Living With Hope
by JesusFreak10110
Summary: As their seventh year begins, will Harry and Hope be able to finish thieir goal of killing Voldemort? With new powers, more training, and added schoolwork, the teens will find that living during this time is not as easy as they expected.
1. Chapter One: 1st Week of School, Day 1

Disclaimer: I don't own it

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Chapter One: First Week of School, Day One

Hope was awakened by someone rudely shaking her. She groaned and rolled over, and swatted the person's hand.

Instead of leaving her to her peaceful sleep, the hands only persisted with more force.

"Go'way," she muttered.

"Come on, Hope!" Hermione's voice brought her world into focus. "It's only the first day of school. Even Harry and the other boys are awake and at breakfast."

Hope groaned as she rolled out of bed and stumbled toward the bathroom. After quickly getting ready, she went down to the common room where Hermione was waiting.

Rolling her eyes as the girl tapped her foot, Hope made her way down to join her.

"Finally!" Hermione complained. "We missed breakfast."

Hope shrugged. "I guess that means we can't go to our first class, since they handed time-tables out at breakfast."

Draco was coming to meet them and laughed at his sister's antics. "Actually, Harry has your timetables," he said, giving Hermione a kiss.

"Eww!" Hope whined, turning away. "Please don't do that in front of me."

Draco laughed. "It's no different than you and Harry kissing in front of us."

Hope made a face. "Uh huh. You're my brother and she's my best friend. It's _completely_ different."

Draco rolled his eyes while Hermione laughed. "It sure is, Hope, since _you're _my sister, and _Harry_ is my best friend. It's completely different."

Hope's face reddened. "What's our first class?"

"Potions," Hermione responded, causing both teens to look at her. She laughed. "We always have potions first on the first day of school. It's a given."

Draco shook his head as he laced his fingers with Hermione's. "Why does she even bother looking at the turntable? I bet she has the schedule memorized already," he whispered to Hope, causing Hermione to smack him with her free hand.

"Hey!!" Hope exclaimed while laughing. "You can't hit my brother, even if he is a pain."

"I'm not a pain!!" Draco exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

Hope rolled her eyes as they entered the potion's classroom. She went and sat up front with Harry, while Hermione and Draco sat behind them.

Harry handed her the timetable, causing her to groan. "We have a double potion's class, and then a double transfiguration class?" She hit her head against the table. "McGonagall hates me!"

Before anybody could respond, Snape stormed into the room and began barking out orders. Hope and Harry worked together on their potion, following the directions very carefully. About halfway through the potion, a note fell on the table in front on her. Hope turned around and saw a smirk on her brother's face. Rolling her eyes, she made sure the potion was okay for a moment before opening the note.

_He's a bit cranky. Think he needs a nap?_

Hope laughed and shook her head before finishing her potion. After getting to the point she and Harry had to take a break, she took out her quill and wrote him back.

_I dunno, Draco. Why don't you ask him? Or are you not gutsy enough?_

She tossed the paper back to him and laughed at the shocked look on his face. Her laughter had received a glare from her father, so she smiled sweetly back at him.

He rolled his eyes and turned the other way. Hope and Harry bottled their potion and cleaned up their station. On the way back, Draco stopped her and whispered in her ear, "Watch this."

He walked over to Snape and received a glare in return. Snape's eyes were guarded, as if he knew his son was up to something.

"Before you say anything that you're going to regret, remember it is officially the school year, and I can take points and give detentions."

Draco recoiled. "Gee, Dad, I was just going to ask if you had a spare bottle I can use since I left mine in your rooms. Maybe you should go take a nap."

Draco turned away and smirked. Snape sighed and shook his head at the childish antics. Hope dropped her mouth open in surprise before bursting out laughing.

"There will be a fifteen inch essay due next class on the effects of the potion you just made. Everyone who has finished their potions and cleaned up their stations is released," the potion's master snapped at the class.

The four teens laughed as they made their way out of the classroom. They went out to the lake for their break. Hermione leaned up against Draco while Hope sat skipping rocks across the lake. Harry was leaning against a tree with his potion's book open. He was writing on his parchment.

"You could do that later. Even Hermione hasn't started it yet," Hope said to him.

"I'd rather get it done now. I have quidditch tryouts after dinner, and I don't want to get backlogged on work."

Hope looked at him. "Can I come to practice with you?"

Harry shrugged. "Sure, since I'm captain this year, nobody can really say anything. Hey, you're a great flyer. Maybe you should try out. We have to fill one chaser position and the keeper position."

"She can't! She's a Slytherin, too!"

Hope made a face. "Are there any openings on the Slytherin team?"

Draco nodded. "There's one open for chaser."

She sighed. "Maybe I could do both teams? Practice with both and just not play in the games when Slytherin is against Gryffindor. You would just have to have a backup chaser. Assuming I'm good enough to make either team."

"I've seen you fly; you're good enough."

Hope smiled and returned to flipping rocks across the lake.

* * *

Hope nervously mounted her broom as several other students walked off the field disappointed. 

"Next!" Harry called out. He had one person already sitting on the bench who was hopeful at becoming a chaser. Hope kicked off the ground and easily caught the quaffle that Harry threw up at her.

"Okay, Hope. As if you haven't heard it a million times, the other two chasers are Ginny and Dean. We'll see how well the three of you work together. If you can't keep up with them and get the quaffle past our new keeper, Cormac McLaggan, then you won't make the team. If you succeed in all three shots, then you're the new chaser."

Hope nodded and began to pass off the ball to Dean. Dean caught it easily and they dodged a bludger running loose while passing the ball back to Hope. She easily faked out McLaggan and made the shot.

"That was awesome, Hope. Keep it going."

She took a deep breath and once again managed to score with the help of Dean. Turning around she looked back at Ginny, who was smirking at her. She rolled her eyes and went back to the starting point. Ginny passed her the ball, before flying ahead of her. Hope picked up speed and passed the quaffle to her before speeding up and turning in front of the goal. Ginny smirked once again and threw the ball hard at Hope.

Hope winced as she caught the ball against her still slightly sensitive stomach, but circled around the goal. She saw McLaggen watching her carefully, so she smiled sweetly at him. Knowing that he would expect her to fake him out, she threw the ball as hard as she could just inside one of the hoops.

Hope landed her broom and started jumping. "I did it!" She yelled. Dean came down and patted her on the back.

"Welcome to the team, Hope!" Harry yelled. "And Lexi," he spoke to the other girl, "You are still required to attend practices, because you will be playing in the Gryffindor/Slytherin game."

The sixth year girl with brown hair nodded. She looked disappointed, yet still happy she would be on the team.

Harry came up to Hope and put his arm around her shoulders. "Welcome to the team, Hope."

Hope leaned against him slightly. "Thanks, want to help me with my potion's assignment as a reward?"

Harry shook his head at her, laughing. "You'll be fine, you have until Friday."

Hope made a face. "But, I have Slytherin tryouts tomorrow after dinner, then practice for this team Wednesday, and if I make Slytherin, Draco says I'll have practice after dinner on Thursday. That doesn't leave much time for essays."

Harry laughed again. "I'll help you tomorrow during our break after DADA. Will that be good enough?"

Hope smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Harry, you're the best!" She responded, before running off toward the castle.

Harry shook his head and looked toward Lexi. "Don't let her teach you anything, unless you want to turn into a manipulative schemer."

Lexi laughed. "It doesn't sound too bad to me."

It was the first time he'd heard her say anything. He shook his head at the girl.

"It is for everyone except her. I'll see you at practice Wednesday."

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A/N: Hey Everyone. Here's the last part of the series. I hope you like it. Review and I'll post early :) I've already gotten it written.

Kayla :P


	2. Chapter Two: 1st Week of School, Day 2

Disclaimer: I don't own it

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Chapter Two: First Week of School: Day Two

_Ginny and Hope obediently went to the platform. "Here are the rules. Normally, you would be attempting to either kill or capture your opponent. Instead, you are seeing who is injured enough to quit or is knocked unconscious. Everything but unforgivables is fair game."_

_The two girls nodded while staring at each other._

"_Okay then, bow and begin," an older woman with long black hair and shining blue eyes said. _

_Hope and Ginny bowed and walked to opposite ends of the dueling platform. Hope raised her wand and waited for the first spell to be cast._

_She didn't have to wait long. A pink spell came hurtling toward her. Hope threw up her strongest shield and the spell made contact before breaking through. Hope jumped out of the way, but the spell hit her arm and Hope felt an excruciating pain go through her arm._

Hope sat up in bed, shaking. That dream had felt real. She could tell what was happening and it was almost like she controlled it. She shook her head and got out of bed, threw on some sweat pants over her shorts, grabbed her broom, and headed downstairs.

When she got downstairs, she looked over toward the window and saw Harry sitting on the sill, watching the sun come up. She smiled and walked over to him.

"Hey," she said, watching the beautiful sunrise over his shoulder.

Harry looked back at her and smiled. "Hey, beautiful."

He turned from his seat so she could sit next to him. She moved to do so, but he pulled her into his lap instead.

She squirmed, trying to get away. "Harry, this isn't right."

Harry smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything, Hope. I just want to watch a beautiful sunrise with a gorgeous girl."

Hope smiled and relaxed. "And you can't do that sitting next to me?"

Harry tightened his hold on her. "I could, but this way's more comfortable." His voice softened. "I miss being able to hold you, Hope."

Hope closed her eyes. "I know, Harry."

"Then why don't we fix it?"

Hope shook her head and pulled away. "I can't, Harry. Why are you down here, anyway?"

Harry turned away from her slightly. "I come down every morning to watch the sunrise. What about you?"

Hope sighed. "I had a weird dream."

Harry locked eyes with her. "Good or bad?"

Hope shrugged. "Bad, I guess. Ginny attacked me again. But it was in the DADA classroom. On a dueling platform. It doesn't make any sense. She's not in our class."

Harry got off the sill and pulled her over to sit next to him on the couch. "Tell me exactly what happened."

Hope shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

He cupped her face with his hands. "Don't push me away. You said yourself we had to trust each other before we could get back together. Trust me."

Hope closed her eyes, reliving the dream. "Ginny and I went up to a dueling platform. That girl at the feast yesterday, our new DADA teacher, she said that we would normally be aiming to kill or capture our opponent, so we were going to go until one of us gave up or until we were knocked unconscious. Everything but unforgivables was allowed. Ginny's curse went through my shield and broke all the bones in my arm. That's when I woke up."

Harry was confused. "Maybe you were just afraid because she keeps attacking you?"

Hope shrugged. "Maybe. I know I'll feel a lot better after the DADA class is over today."

Harry nodded and pulled her close. She was shaking again. She leaned against him and accepted the support he offered.

"I promise, I'm not going to let her hurt you anymore, Hope."

"Why is she targeting me? You've made it clear you're not interested in her."

Harry felt his heart breaking because she was hurting. "I don't know, Hope. But we'll all help you. She won't be able to touch you."

She nodded against his shirt. "It's going to be hard for us to work together during quidditch."

Harry laughed. "No, it won't. When she's playing, Ginny loses focus of everything else. That will probably be the one time that you and her get along."

Hope laughed but was interrupted as she heard someone coming down the stairs. Hermione looked at her best friend in Harry's arms, and smiled until she saw the look in her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Hope nodded. "I am now."

She pulled away from Harry. "So much for flying this morning. I better get ready for class."

Harry nodded and pulled her back to him for a moment. "If you want, start meeting me in the astronomy tower in the mornings to watch the sunrise."

Hope looked into his eyes. She nodded and turned to follow Hermione up the stairs

* * *

An hour later, Hope, Hermione, Draco, and Harry were all seated in the front of the classroom waiting for their DADA teacher to arrive. They were talking quietly when someone sat at the empty seat next to Harry. 

Everyone turned and was surprised to see Ginny sitting there. "Hey guys."

"Hi, Ginny," Harry and Hermione replied politely.

"What are you doing in here?" Draco asked the redhead.

Ginny shrugged. "Professor Arasia decided I was too advanced for my class so she wants to see if I will be able to succeed in yours. By the way, Hermione and Draco, you might want to switch seats. She likes us to sit boy/girl, so if you're already arranged that way, she won't mess with where you sit."

Everyone nodded. Harry and Hope shared worried glances as the two switched places just as the professor walked in.

"Good morning, class! My name is Professor Arasia. The first thing we are going to do, is get you seated boy/girl."

After several minutes of switching seats, the new professor moved on, leaving Hope, Harry, Ginny, Draco and Hermione where they were.

"Now, I understand that the majority of your previous professors were quite unreliable. But to ease everyone's mind, I am not a follower of Voldemort, a werewolf, on polyjuice potion, and I am definitely not working for the ministry."

Everyone laughed. "So are you a self-centered fraud like Lockhart?" Someone asked in the back.

Professor Arasia laughed. "Afraid not. I am a simple person, living on my ranch in the middle of nowhere. The headmaster asked a favor and here I am. Anymore questions?"

Everyone shook their head, so the teacher went on. "Then my rules are next. And they are quite simple. Do what I ask and respect your classmates, and we'll get along fine. However, since this class will be practicing very advanced magic, if you intentionally try to harm someone, you will regret it for the rest of the year."

Everyone nodded to show their understanding. Professor Arasia nodded in approval and got everyone to stand and move their desks to the end of the room.

"Now, who is the best female and male dueler in this class?"

"Hope and Harry," everyone simultaneously called out.

"Excellent!" She called out, while clapping her hands together. Everyone watched in amazement as the room transformed into a dueling platform. "Then first, I would like for Ginny to come up here and battle against Hope. This way, I can see where she stands against the most advanced duelers in your class. Next class, the winner will go against Harry. As long as the duelers work hard and the class pays attention to their styles, there will be no homework."

Harry watched as everything Hope described in her dream happened on stage. When he saw the pink light go toward her, he couldn't help screaming out her name.  
Hope screamed as the pain from the curse hit her arm. She was shocked that her dream was coming alive in front of her. She performed a wandless shield similar to the one from the hospital wing while she ripped off a piece of her white robe and made a sling for her arm.

She lowered the shield and sent a curse in Ginny's direction quicker than the redhead could react. Ginny went flying into the wall behind her. Hope watched as she quickly got to her feet and sent another curse hurtling her direction.

The duel continued for twenty more minutes before Ginny started to tire. After endlessly throwing and blocking curses, fatigue was evident on the redhead's face.

Hope, on the other hand, was accustomed to long battles from training with her father. She saw a weak spot in Ginny's shield and aimed her curse there. The girl fell to the ground and sent sparks into the air, signaling her defeat.

Hope jumped off the platform. Her white robe had spots of red in it where she had been hit with different curses. Harry put an arm around her shoulder and she leaned against him without another word.

"Way to go, Hope! Good job to you as well, Ginny. That was a very exciting battle. Harry, Dean, why don't you two escort the ladies down to the hospital wing so they can get some potions in them?"

Hope made a face. "Can I just go to my dad's office?"

Professor Arasia eyed the girl before nodding. "As long as you allow Harry to escort you. I don't need a student falling in the hallway on my first day teaching."

Hope nodded and the two left the classroom. He took her down to the dungeons, surprised that she was supporting herself just fine.

Instead of taking her to Severus' office, he directed her to his quarters. He set her down on the couch and fire called the man's office. Stepping back, he allowed Snape to walk through the fire.

Harry stood back and watched as Snape expertly untied Hope's sling and examined her arm. He set her arm against a pillow, muttered something to her, and cleaned her many cuts before giving her a painkiller and backing up.

"You okay?" Harry asked her from where he was standing.

Hope nodded. "Told you I should have done the essay last night. I'll never be able to put together two sentences with this painkiller."

Harry sat on the edge of the couch. "I'll help you with them both tonight after your tryouts. How are you going to play quidditch with your arm like that?"

Hope shrugged. "I'll down a painkiller right before. That will make all the difference in the world."

Harry nodded. "I'll be waiting for you in the common room. We'll get both your essays done tonight."

Hope smiled at him. "Thanks. Go ahead and go to lunch with Hermione and Draco. I'm going to catch a nap before our next class." She looked confused. "What is our next class? I've not looked at our timetable that far."

Harry laughed. "We have charms after lunch, and then a dueling practice with your father and the headmaster."

Hope made a face. "Wonderful. That means another essay for Flitwick."

Harry laughed. "We'll get them done. I'll come get you before Charms."

Hope's only reply was to snuggle deeper into the cushions she was laying on. She closed her eyes and didn't see the small smile on Harry's face as he looked at her before leaving the room.

* * *

Hope walked in after quidditch practice. She was exhausted and wanted to get her homework done as quickly as she could so she could get some sleep. 

She smiled when she saw Harry sitting in the floor with books spread around him. She sat next to him, leaning back against the chair behind her. "Have I told you lately just how wonderful you are?"

Harry grinned. "You have, but I'll welcome hearing it again. How's the arm?"

Hope winced. "Sore. But I made chaser."

Harry smiled at her. "Congrats. As your reward, you get to do three essays."

Hope made a face. "Let's just get started."

The two worked on the essays for another two hours. Once done, Hope gladly closed the books and put them in her bag. Not wanting to carry the bag up to her dorms, she set it in the corner of the common room.

"I am going to go to sleep. Is the offer for the astronomy tower still good?"

Harry smiled softly at her. He reached up to brush a piece of hair out of her face. "I look forward to it."

Hope let a tired smile reach her face before she turned and went upstairs for a long needed sleep.

---

A/N: Here you go. Hope you guys are liking it. Since it has been so long since I posted, (I'm about to move out) I am going to give you the three chapters I have back from my beta. As soon as I get more from her I'll post them :)

Kayla :P


	3. Chapter Three: 1st Week of School, Day 3

Disclaimer: I don't own it

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Chapter Three: First Week of School: Day Three

Hope grudgingly got out of bed as her alarm went off. She made a face as she looked out her window and noticed the sun wasn't even beginning to rise yet. She quickly got a shower and got dressed before going to meet Harry in the astronomy tower. He was sitting there with his back to her when she arrived. He was already in his robe, where she chose to bring hers with her and just put it on later. She shook her head as she went and sat across from him.

"How do you manage to get up here so early, and still look alive and not be cranky?"

Harry smiled. "I'm used to the lack of sleep. It's a part of being the boy-who-lived."

Hope raised her eyebrows, but chose not to reply. "So what are we going to talk about?"

Harry shrugged. "We don't have to talk about anything. If you want to talk though, go ahead."

Hope rolled her eyes and leaned back. The view was beautiful over the lake. She unknowingly let a small smile fall across her face.

After watching the sun rise for a few moments, she noticed Harry watching her.

"What?" She asked, turning red.

Harry shook his head. "It's just rare to see you smile at simple things."

"It is?"

Harry nodded. "You never just smile anymore. You will if we are joking around, or if someone says something nice to you. But you don't smile, just to smile."

Hope looked away. "I didn't realize."

Harry shrugged. "It's been like that since you came back from Voldemort. I understand, he took a part of your life from you. I'm apparently the same way, according to Hermione."

She nodded, not looking away from the sunrise. "Are we going to do this every morning? Because I think just sitting here watching the sunrise is going to get boring."

Harry laughed at her. "It won't. It's always different. Sometimes, there are birds, sometimes other forest animals come out. It's a good way to start the day."

Hope shook her head. "Harry you're an enigma." She glanced down at her watch. "And we have to get moving, or Severus will skin us for a potion ingredient if we're late."

Harry laughed and got up before holding his hand out to her. She just looked at it.

"Come on, I promise I don't bite."

She smiled and let him pull her to her feet. "I never thought you did."

"Sure, I could see the thought flashing through your head. Harzilla is going to bite me!" He teased her.

She shook her head. "You're not strong enough to be Harzilla."

Harry looked at her. "Did you dare to say that?"

Hope giggled. "I did, what are you going to do about it?"

"Well, I'm not going to do anything yet, but I'll keep it stored in my mind. I still owe you for the water bucket incident."

Hope's mouth dropped open. "Nuh uh, that was payback for what you did the day I went to my manor. Besides, you dragged me into the lake."

Harry shook his head, enjoying the game they were playing. "That doesn't count, and I didn't get you soaking wet. The lake was just a fun way to cool you off."

Hope shook her head while laughing. "I give up. You're absolutely hopeless."

By now, they had reached the patch of trees where they were supposed to meet Severus. Neither noticed him standing in the background. Harry smirked at Hope and leaned forward, invading her space.

"I am currently hopeless…but I don't plan on being that way for much longer."

Hope's eyes glittered as she looked at him. "What are you going to do to fix it?"

Harry let his smirk fall into a smile. "I don't have to do anything. A few more mornings like this one, and you'll be falling at my feet."

Hope threw her head back and laughed. "You wish, Potter."

Hope heard footsteps and turned to see her brother coming with his girlfriend. She smiled at the two. Draco raised an eyebrow at her being so close to Harry. She gave him a look, telling him not to worry.

"Great, now that we're all here, we can get started," a voice from behind her caused Hope to jump.

"How long have you been there!?" She asked her father.

A small smile formed on his face. "Long enough. I completely agree with Harry."

Hope's mouth fell open. "No way! Eavesdropping is so rude."

Severus raised an eyebrow at her. "Next time, be more aware of who is around you. I can't help it if you stopped less than ten feet away from me to continue your conversation."

Hope glared at him playfully. "Let's just go on with this lesson."

Harry stifled a laugh from behind her and Hope turned around to glare at him. He grinned at her, causing her to roll her eyes and turn away.

All four teens listened as Severus explained the process of Apparation. He allowed each of the four teens to try, but the only ones who managed was Draco and Hope, and they could only make it about halfway to their destination.

Severus dismissed them, and the teens all went, once again, to sit next to the lake for their break. Hope pulled out a wandless magic book and began reading while she sat against a tree. Harry was involved in a conversation with Draco about quidditch, while Hermione was actually studying for their next class, Care of Magical Creatures.

After Care of Magical Creatures, where they were the only four still continuing the class, Draco reluctantly and only with encouragement from Hermione, they made their way to lunch. Hope hurried after lunch to go to her wandless magic lessons with the headmaster, while Draco and Harry went to fly and Hermione went to watch.

* * *

Hope was becoming increasingly frustrated about halfway through her lessons. She couldn't get the hang of her wandless magic.

"I don't get it. Maybe I can only use it when I'm upset or worried?"

Severus shook his head. "You're not focusing. This will be controllable. The only one of your powers that will not be in your control is the prophetic dreams."

"Prophetic dreams?" Hope looked up at him, confused.

"Yes, I haven't told you about them yet because I didn't expect you to have them yet."

Hope shook her head. "You're wrong. I had one yesterday. I had a dream about DADA, and it came true."

Severus smiled at her. "Then I was wrong. It's important if you have anymore dreams like that you tell me. Okay?"

Hope nodded at him. He dismissed her for the day and she rushed out of the room, went and grabbed her Arithmancy book, and rushed up to the tower to make it on time. She sighed as she sat down. After this, all she had to worry about was quidditch practice and whatever homework assignment she had for Arithmancy.

--

A/N: Here's 3. I'll post four and then another as soon as I get more from my beta. :)

Kayla :P


	4. Chapter Four: 1st Week of School, Day 4

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

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Chapter Four: First Week of Classes: Day Four

Hope once again met Harry in the astronomy tower on Thursday morning. She rubbed her eyes as they silently watched the sunrise while sitting across from each other. It had been a long night. She had gone to see her father after quidditch practice. He had given her another book on controlling wandless magic and told her to read it before their next lesson. She nodded with a sigh and helped him with some potions until almost eleven. Then she had gone up to her room, where she began on her Arithmancy homework, which took her another two hours to do. By the time she began the book and got ready to go to sleep, it was almost three in the morning. So when her alarm woke her up at five, she was less than enthusiastic.

Nevertheless, she had gotten up and joined Harry on the tower. She could catch up on sleep this weekend. It was worth it to share the time with him.

She looked up and caught his eyes on her. His expression was worried. She raised her eyebrow at him. "What's wrong?"

He stared at her with a piercing gaze. "I was about to ask you the same question, you look exhausted."

Hope shrugged. "Was with my dad until late, then had to finish homework, and read this new book he wants me to have done. Not a big deal, Harry."

She wanted to squirm under his scrutinizing gaze, but forced herself to continue staring into his eyes. She wouldn't back down.

Harry looked away and shook his head. "You should've slept in instead of meeting me up here."

Hope was hurt. "You don't want me up here?"

Harry looked back at her quickly. "That's not what I meant. I just think you need the sleep."

Hope let her hurt eyes level with his. "I am a big girl, Harry. I can take care of myself. If you would rather me not be here, then that's your choice. I will leave."

Hope stood but didn't get far before Harry grabbed her arm. "Don't go," he whispered.

Hope sighed and turned to face him. "Make up your mind."

"I just don't want you making yourself sick or anything like that to meet me. We can arrange another time for the two of us."

Hope rolled her eyes. "I don't have time to arrange anything else, Harry. It's no big deal. I'm a little sleep deprived during the week, get caught up during the weekend. I can handle it."

Harry watched her for a moment before nodding. "We need to get to Herbology."

Hope groaned and led the way down the staircase. "At least we get a break to do our homework afterwards."

Harry laughed at her. "You're turning into Hermione."

Hope drew back as if offended. "No way! Hermione does nothing but study. I'm just in a few more classes, plus on two quidditch teams, and still make better grades than her."

Harry laughed even harder. They weren't paying attention to where they were walking, and both walked into someone on the way downstairs.

"Oops. Sorry!" Hope said as she looked up. "Oh, hi Dad."

Severus raised an eyebrow at her. "Not paying attention to your surroundings. I thought you had learned your lesson yesterday."

Hope smiled. "Obviously not. Did you need something, or were you just heading upstairs for a visit with another Gryffindor?"

He rolled his eyes as he watched the two teens get to their feet and brush themselves off. "I wanted you to come down to my office after your first class. I do believe you have a break during that time. I need to discuss something with you."

Hope looked at him. "Dad, don't tell me you're about to take away the only free-period I have. Everyone is out of class at that time!"

Severus rolled his eyes at his daughter. "You're not everybody and you need to get prepared for the war." His eyes softened. "We need to discuss tactics on how to reach the animals. Remember what Harry said the mermaid told him? We're running out of time."

Hope sighed and nodded. "I'll be there, guess I'll do my homework later."

He gave her a sympathetic glance. "You can do it this weekend."

"I guess I can just sleep another time, then," she muttered as she walked away.

Harry shot the potion's master an apologetic look as he ran to catch up with Hope. He squeezed her shoulder in sympathy before they continued on to their first class.

The first class went by smoothly, and after being assigned a twelve inch essay, they continued on to the lake. Hope left everyone to go meet her father, promising to find them if they finished early. She listened halfheartedly to all the ideas he threw out, before deciding that their best bet would be to take weekends and actually go and talk to the animals. She nodded and just waited for everyone to show up for the Occlumency lessons that were scheduled to start.

She sighed as the headmaster came in. If he was there, it meant it wouldn't be the same, easy lessons that her and Harry were used to getting. He motioned for Harry and her to join him, while Hermione and Draco stayed with her father.

Dumbledore gave Hope a scrutinizing look before continuing on. "The two of you have basically mastered what Severus can teach you with basic Occlumency. What I suggested, is that while he is teaching Hermione and Draco, I continue on teaching you two. I can teach you how to form mind links, and once we finish with that, Severus should be ready to teach you how to fabricate memories for those who are probing your mind."

Hope and Harry sighed as they nodded. Dumbledore gave them both a book to read and commanded them to read the first three chapters before the next lesson. Hope sighed as she put the book in her bag and listened as he explained about how the person needed eye contact to instigate a mind link, but did not have to continue eye contact to keep the link going.

After time was up, Hope watched everyone go to lunch. She followed, pretending to be listening to Hermione as she complained about how she wasn't catching on to Occlumency as well as she should be. Hope rolled her eyes at the girl, and shared a knowing look with Harry.

After lunch, the four teens went on to yet another double DADA class. Everyone knew that Hope and Harry would be dueling in this class. Harry was worried because of how exhausted Hope was. He watched as she secretly downed a painkiller from the duel with Ginny a couple days ago.

Fortunately, Hope was still fast on her feet during the duel. The fight went on for thirty minutes, with neither backing down or tiring, until Hope's shield fell under a double curse by Harry. Hope was thrown off the platform and across the room before hitting the stone wall hard.

Draco and Hermione were at her side in a moment, expecting her to give up. Instead, Hope shrugged them off and got back on the platform with a look at Harry. She was bleeding from a cut on her head and was obviously slightly disoriented, but she wasn't giving up.

"Hope, don't do this," Harry called from the other side.

"I'm not losing," she said with a glint in her eyes.

Harry dodged a curse she threw at him. He had no choice but to retaliate. He sent a mild curse toward her and watched it cleanly break through her shield. He summoned her wand to him and turned toward the professor.

"Good enough?" He asked. She wordlessly nodded. Harry went toward where Hope was attempting to stand and took her weight. She fought against him, annoyed that he beat her. Harry locked eyes with Draco and the boy wordlessly came up and took his sister's weight.

"No homework, tonight. Excellent job to both Harry and Hope. I will see you all on Tuesday."

Draco helped Hope out of the classroom and down to the hospital wing. He teased her the entire way down, noticing how Harry hung behind them with a guilty look on his face. He knew Hope was fine, but assuring Harry of that was another story.

"Hope, tell your boyfriend to quit moping," he teased as he set her on a bed.

"Harry, quit moping," she responded without even thinking.

Harry smirked as he came up to her. "Does that mean you'll go back out with me?"

Hope looked up at him with confused eyes. "Huh?" He watched as understanding crossed her face. She pushed him gently. "Ask again when I'm not annoyed at you for beating me."

Harry smiled and kissed her forehead gently. "Fair enough."

Hope was annoyed when the mediwitch fussed over her before releasing her to go straight to bed. Hope rolled her eyes and got out of bed before walking gingerly toward the library. She ignored Harry, Draco and Hermione's objections.

"I have to finish my essay. I won't have time to do it any other night. I promise I'll go up right afterwards, and if someone wants to wait for me so they insure I don't collapse, that's fine, but I'm doing my essay."

Everyone sighed but sat down and started on their work. Once done, they all went to the common room and settled comfortably. Hope was sitting in a lounge chair, while Harry sat at her feet. Hermione and Draco were sharing a chair. Hope had pulled out her book to read a few more chapters while everyone else caught up on their homework.

_A few more chapters_ she told herself_ and then I can get some sleep._

_--_

_A/N: This is the last chapter I have that is edited. As soon as Nita gets more chapters to me, then I will post them, and in the meantime I will keep writing more. Let me know what you all think.  
Kayla  
_


	5. Chapter Five: 1st Week of School, Day 5

Disclaimer: Own nothing but the plot...and Hope

--

Chapter Five: First Week of Classes: Day Five

Harry came downstairs and smiled. Hope had fallen asleep last night while reading her book on wandless magic. Everyone had assumed she would wake up and go back to her room, but apparently she had slept throughout the night. Harry took the book off her lap and marked her page before setting it beside her.

The urge to kiss her was swift and unexpected. Harry backed up to put some room in between them while he watched her eyes flutter open.

"Hey," she muttered. "Why are you in the girl's dorm?"

He laughed at her. "I'm in the common room, honey, and so are you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "My name's not honey, or beautiful."

He threw caution to the wind and invaded her space. "Then we'll change it for awhile."

Hope shook her head, smirking. "You don't have the authority to do that."

Harry raised his eyebrow at her. "Really? How about we change that?"

Hope's breath caught. "How do you intend on doing that?"

Harry shrugged casually before sitting at her feet, looking at her. "You said to ask you again when you weren't annoyed at me for beating you. So, what about it?"

Hope leaned forward, grinning mischievously. "What about what?"

Harry sighed. "Hope, will you be my girlfriend again?"

Hope leaned back, looking pensive. "I don't know, Harry. I mean, it would be such hard work, and you know, I'm not sure if you're worth it." She leaned forward again until she was inches away from his face. "Are you?"

Harry leaned forward and kissed her sweetly. He pulled back and smiled. "I don't know. Am I?"

Hope blinked. "Definitely worth it."

Harry smiled and picked her up, twirling her around. "Good."

He set her down and smiled at her. "Let's not tell Hermione. Come on," he said, while pulling her out the common room. He led her down to breakfast with his hand in hers. They set down and quickly ate breakfast before heading to their first class, History of Magic, early.

Harry noticed Hope's guarded movements as they walked and felt a pang of guilt go through him. "Hope, I'm sorry about hurting you."

Hope shrugged. "It's fine, almost gone anyway," she lied.

"Then why are you walking so carefully and avoiding running into anything when you wouldn't normally care?"

Hope shared a look with him. "Don't tell my dad."

He pulled her close. "I won't. Are you staying down there this weekend?"

She nodded. "We're going to go talk to some bowtruckles. Dad and Dumbledore believe that we can convince them to start attacking any death eaters that are in the forbidden forest, but nobody can talk to them but me. This could help us figure out who is a death eater and who isn't. He says it's a good place to start. Then Sunday, we're going to go and try to talk to the Lobalugs. He believes that I can convince them to protect the merpeople and other water beasts, so that they help us if they are needed."

Harry winced. "Sounds like a fun weekend."

"Oh yeah, first creatures with long nails that will tear up my face, then poison shooting water beasts. Want to join me?"

Harry backed away slowly. "That's okay. When you decide to deal with snakes, let me know and I'll tag along."

Hope laughed. "Sure, you'll back out then because you're afraid you'll be poisoned."

Harry shook his head. "Yeah, right."

Suddenly Hermione dropped her books down, out of breath. She turned to Hope.

"Your brother is the most insane, downright git that the world has ever known. He threw me into the lake, as if it wasn't freezing and…"

"Harry and I got back together," Hope said, effectively ending her tirade.

Hermione squealed and hugged her best friend. Hope winced and Harry shot her an 'I told you so' look. She smiled at Hermione as she was released.

Before Hermione could ask any questions, Draco came in, followed by Professor Binns who floated in and began lecturing them on Goblin Wars. Sighing, Hope rolled her eyes and tried to stay awake.

Finally the end of class came and the four teens made their way out to the lake for their normal meeting space. Hope and Harry locked hands, which earned them a funny look from Draco. Hope merely shrugged and stated that she had changed her mind.

After their break, the four teens made their way to Charms. They all practiced the new charm that they were supposed to have read about, and all four managed to get it right. After assigning them a seventeen inch essay due next class, the four teens left the class and headed to lunch.

Hope looked at her timetable and squealed, attracting the attention of everyone. She blushed and lowered her head. After a while, people went back to their food instead of giving her odd looks. Finally, Harry asked her what was the big deal.

"We have animagus training next. Oh, I wonder what I'll turn into?!"

Harry shook his head at her. "It's not like you'll get to know. There is no way that you'll be able to transform in one day. It'll take ages."

Hope sighed. "Maybe there is a spell that lets us know what our shape would be? How else would you know what to practice changing into?"

Hermione laughed at her. "Don't you two know anything? Of course there is a spell, and a million books on the subject."

"And Hermione's read them all, I bet," Harry added. Hermione smacked him and Hope laughed.

They quickly ate lunch before meeting Draco to go out to the same field they practiced Apparation. The group smiled when the headmaster was there, along with Snape.

"Welcome. How are all your classes going?" The jolly old headmaster asked with a smile.

Everyone groaned except Hermione, who began excitedly explaining each and everyone of her classes. Hope went up and clamped a hand over her mouth.

Severus rolled his eyes at the teenagers before getting started.

"We're going to keep it simple today. You will all be receiving a copy of Animagus: The Secret to Transforming…"

"Not _another_ book," Hope muttered. She was silenced by a glare from her father.

"…and after telling you what your shape is, you will read the first half of the book before our next lesson."

The teens nodded. Severus pulled Hope and Draco over with him since they were his children, while Harry and Hermione went with the headmaster.

Severus, knowing he was going to go first, quickly transformed himself into a black raven. Hope jumped back, having never seen a wizard actually switch forms before. She stared in awe as her father stood where the bird had just been.

Everyone turned and looked at the headmaster, who winked before turning into a beautiful silver owl. He flew around once before returning to the ground. The four teens were awestruck.

Hope broke the silence. "I want to know what I'll turn into!!"

Severus smiled at the girl. With a nod from the headmaster, he chanted the spell and watched as a shadow of a white phoenix covered his daughter from view.

"Oh, how pretty," Hermione muttered.

Hope gasped and stared at the picture in front of her. "I'm a white phoenix?"

Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes glittering maniacally. "Of course you are. With you're healing properties, it's only expected."

Hope smiled. "Awesome!!"

Severus turned to Draco next. He cast the same spell and watched a silver and green snake appear. Draco seemed disappointed.

"Hey, that's a cool form, bro. You can sneak everywhere and not be noticed," Hope said.

That seemed to cheer the boy up. Severus shook his head and watched as Dumbledore did the spell for Hermione. Hermione gasped as her form was revealed to be a beautiful unicorn.

"Oh, I'm so jealous!" Hope said.

Hermione looked at her and smiled. "I would rather be a phoenix."

Hope rolled her eyes. Everyone looked expectantly toward Harry. Harry heard the spell muttered and let out a gasp of surprise. In all his daydreams, he never expected his animagus form to be a dragon. He shook his head and looked toward the headmaster for confirmation.

"Has that even happened before, sir?" Hermione asked.

The headmaster locked eyes with Harry. "Never, and I'm quite proud you will be the first, Harry."

Harry nodded. He was speechless. They listened to the professors talk about the following weeks of training before heading inside for the last class of the day: Potions.

--

A/N: Here ya go, guys. I've got more written, and as soon as my beta gets it to me, I'll post:) Let me know what you guys think.  
Kayla :P 


	6. Chapter Six: Remembering

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

--

Chapter Six: Remembering

Hope left her father's quarters early on Monday morning. The weekend had gone on with few mishaps. The bowtruckles and lobalugs didn't want to listen, but after Hope persistently talked to them through a shield, they agreed to help.

Hope stifled a yawn as she made her way outside to the lake. She had gotten even less sleep over the weekend than she was used to. After chasing crazed beasts, spending time with her boyfriend, and finally catching up with her homework, she barely got an hour or two of sleep before she had to meet Harry in the Astronomy Tower.

She was supposed to be meeting him there today, but he would understand when she didn't show up. She needed the time to herself today. She sighed as she sat down, facing out to the water.

She looked up to the sky with unshed tears in her eyes.

"I still can't believe you guys are gone. Parents are supposed to be there for their kids. Instead, I got you guys killed."

Hope hadn't expected today to be so hard. It had been a year since her parents had been killed. She had been so busy in the past week since school started that she didn't even notice how close the day was coming. But she couldn't possibly forget after the nightmares last night.

She closed her eyes and laid her head against her knees. The tears she had been holding in fell down her cheeks.

* * *

Harry made his way down to breakfast, wondering where Hope was. She wasn't in the common room, and she wasn't in her father's quarters. He looked over to where Draco was sitting with Blaise and noticed that she wasn't over there either.

Shaking his head, he made his way over to where Hermione was sitting. "Have you seen Hope this morning?" He asked as he sat down next to her.

Hermione shook her head. "Draco said she left early this morning. We assumed she had gone to meet you like normal."

Harry frowned. "No, she didn't show up this morning. I assumed maybe she was sleeping in. She's not been getting much sleep."

Hermione shrugged. "I wouldn't worry too much. She'll be in class, I'm sure."

Harry sighed, but had no choice but to wait. He looked toward the doors every couple minutes to see if she was coming in, but by the end of breakfast, they still hadn't seen her.

Harry and Hermione met up with Draco, who gave Harry a curious glance. "Already fighting with Hope?"

Harry shook his head. "I haven't seen her at all this morning. She usually meets up with me early, but she didn't show this morning. We were fine last night."

Draco frowned. "She left at five this morning. You're telling me she didn't meet up with you?"

Harry shook his head. "But like Hermione told me, she wouldn't miss class. She should be in potions. There's no way she'd risk angering your father."

Draco laughed and nodded. "That's true. If she's not there, then we'll know something is wrong."

The three of them walked toward Potions and noticed that Hope wasn't there. Severus looked up from his desk and frowned.

"Where's your sister?" He asked Draco.

Draco shrugged. "Nobody's seen her."

Severus sighed. "I expected as much."

Everyone looked at him funny. They watched as other people entered the room, looking for Hope. Hermione glanced at her watch, getting worried.

"Don't worry, 'Mione. She'll show. Sev seems to know what's going on, and he's not worried." Draco reassured her.

Hermione nodded and turned around. They heard the doors open right before class was starting and turned to look expectantly. All three teens let out a sigh of relief when they saw Hope enter, obviously unharmed.

She walked over and took her usual seat in the front. Severus gave her a look and she nodded at him, so he began his lesson.

They were all making a very dangerous potion. The class was making the Draught of Peace, and if the steps were not followed exactly, the potion would either explode or become poisonous. Therefore, Severus decided that everyone would make their own potion to avoid distractions caused from chatting with partners. After looking at his daughter, he wondered if he had made the right choice.

Severus watched as she got out her cauldron and supplies. She seemed to be working effectively even if she seemed distracted and tired. He shook his head and continued looking around the room. He walked over to his son's cauldron.

"If you are able to do so without ruining your potion, make sure your sister is careful. She seems distracted," he said in low tones. Draco locked eyes with him and nodded.

Hope prepared her powdered moonstone and watched her cauldron turn a bright pink. She wrinkled her forehead, noticing the shade was a bit off, before shrugging. She measured out the correct amount and dropped in the ingredient before stirring her potion.

Hope heard Draco move behind her before she looked back at her own potion. It had started to bubble viciously and was obviously not correct.

Draco yelled for Hope to move while casting a spell to protect the cauldrons around them. He looked back and saw Hope staring at her cauldron as it exploded.

Severus heard Draco's yell and turned toward where he was sitting. He saw Hope stare at her potion before it exploded, throwing her back into Draco's table.

Luckily, Draco's potion didn't spill because of his spell, but he went to his sister, who slid off the table onto the floor. She shook up shakily, looking dazed. She turned toward him with a confused look in her eyes.

"What did I do wrong?" She asked, looking down at her robes.

Draco looked to make sure she wasn't hurt. He didn't see any noticeable damage, but led her over to their father's office regardless.

"You added in the powdered moonstone a bit too early. Normally, that would just cause the potion to be fine, except then you stirred the potion the wrong way."

Hope looked at him like he was crazy. "I did?"

Draco looked at his sister with concern. "You did. Are you okay?"

Hope looked at him for a minute. "I think I need to sit down."

Draco grabbed her arms and lead her over to the couch. "Hope?" he asked her worriedly.

He lifted her chin so she met his eyes. What he saw there scared him. Her eyes were unfocused, and she seemed more distracted than earlier.

"Hope?" He called again. Her eyes seemed to focus on him for a moment.

"Is Dad mad?"

"Because you blew up your potion?"

She nodded.

"I don't think so. I think he's more worried because you're so distracted."

"Oh."

Draco watched her. "What's wrong? Harry was worried when you didn't meet up with him."

Hope looked down and took a deep breath. "I don't want to talk about it."

Draco looked at her before nodding. He heard the door open behind him and saw their father come in.

"Is she okay?" He asked worriedly.

Draco stepped away. "I'm not sure. She seems kind of dazed."

Severus moved over to Hope. He kneeled down in front of her and got her attention. "Are you hurt, Lea?"

Hope looked up and shook her head.

"Are you okay?"

Hope shook her head and Severus saw the unshed tears in her eyes. He leaned forward and pulled her into a hug.

"Draco, go ahead and go be with your friends. I'll make sure she gets to her next class on time."

Draco shook his head. "No way. She's my sister. I want to know what's going on."

Severus sighed as he pulled his daughter close and sat down. "Draco, think. Did Lucius ever come home bragging about how they finally broke her?"

Draco thought about it for a minute. "One day he did."

Severus locked eyes with him so he would know he was serious. "Remember what he did to do that? That was one year ago today."

Draco's eyes shot wide open. "Today?"

Severus nodded, turning his attention to the crying girl he was holding. "Lea, its okay."

"That's why you knew she would be distracted."

Severus nodded. "I didn't think it through, otherwise I would have chosen a potion that would be brewed in partners."

Draco went over and sat next to them. "I'm sorry, sis."

Hope looked up at him. Seeing the tears coursing down her cheeks made Draco want to reach out and hug her. Instead, he reached up and brushed a strand a hair out of her face. "I'm here for you, you know that, right?"

She nodded and moved away from both of them. "I know. I need to find Harry. I kind of stood him up this morning."

Draco looked at Severus and nodded, telling him that he would stay with her. He linked his arm through his sister's and pulled her toward the door. "Okay then, let's go find your boy."

Hope looked at him like he was crazy, but followed. As she got to the door, she heard her father call out for her to see him after dinner. She didn't get time to answer before Draco pulled her toward the entrance hall.

Hope tried to pull away once she got to the entrance hall, but Draco dragged her over to the Slytherin table. "This week you have to sit with Slytherin, remember?"  
Hope nodded, dazed, as he put her in between himself and Blaise. She tried to keep up with their conversations, but she kept losing her thoughts. Draco noticed and as soon as she had eaten a little, he pulled her out the door with a pointed look to the Gryffindor table.

He led her outside the doors and stopped. After about a minute, Harry and Hermione met up with them. Draco grabbed Hermione and said something to her, before they walked off to go upstairs. Harry looked at Hope with a worried look.

"Everything okay?"

She nodded and linked hands with him. "It will be. Let's go to class."

Harry gave her a weird look as he followed her upstairs. He stopped her outside the Transfiguration classroom. "Promise me you will tell me what happened after dinner."

Hope nodded. "I promise. I have to go see my dad after dinner, but you're welcome to come. Or I can talk to you afterwards."

Harry nodded. "I'll talk after you get back."

Hope watched him for a minute before nodding and going into the transfiguration classroom.

* * *

After dinner, Hope made her way down to her father's quarters. She stayed down there for about an hour, just talking about different times when their family was in school. She left his office feeling a bit better. 

She went and met up with Harry in the common room. She explained to him about what happened and why she was so upset. Harry listened to her until someone came downstairs and asked about quidditch practice.

Harry made a face. "Go ahead and go out. I'll be out in a little bit."

The boy looked at Harry like he had lost his mind before leaving the common room. Harry turned his attention back to Hope. "I don't think you should fly tonight. You've been a bit distracted."

Hope looked at him. "No way! I want to practice. I can't fall behind."

Harry sighed. "Fine, but I will be watching you carefully. At the first sign of exhaustion, you will be coming down."

Hope gave in. She grabbed her broom and followed him out. They flew around for a couple hours and came back in the common room. Harry and Hope collapsed onto the couch.

Hope leaned against Harry as they worked on their essays together. About halfway through the last essay, Harry looked over and saw her asleep. He shook his head, smiling, and put her books back in her bag. He turned and saw a bunch of people coming down the common room.

"What's up, Seamus?" He asked the redhead carrying a ton of bottles in his hands.

"We're celebrating. All the seventh years. Just seems like the thing to do."

Harry made a face glancing at the sleeping Hope. "I'll take her up into our dorm room, then, since I can't exactly get into the girls. Do you mind?"

Seamus laughed. "Harry, all of us have had at least one girl in the dorm room over the past couple years. You're more than entitled to have your girlfriend in our dorm. Just put up a silencing charm. I don't want to hear her scream when she wakes up and sees where she is."

Harry laughed and picked her up. He carried her up to the room with their bags floating behind him. He set her down on the bed and crawled in next to her. She would freak when she woke up, but at least she would sleep comfortably without nightmares. As Harry cast the silencing charm, he set the alarm for a half hour before her first class.

--

A/N: Hey Everyone! There's Chapter Six. What did you think? I hope you liked it. :D It is one of my favorite chapters until the very end.

I also wanted to say a huge thank you to my beta. I keep forgetting to mention her in these things, but she's really been with me from the beginning days when I was just planning this story. She makes sure I don't make stupid mistakes, and that the story all fits together. This way you can all understand it:) So thanks a lot Nita! I know you've been busy but you still make time to help me!

Anyway, same thing, I'll post as soon as I get the next chapter done.  
Kayla :P 


	7. Chapter Seven: Just a Cold

Disclaimer: I don't own it

--

Chapter 7: Just a Cold

Seamus pulled the curtain to Harry's bed back and smiled. Harry was laying with his arm draped around Hope and she was snuggled against him. Both were obviously sleeping comfortably. Seamus went to his trunk and got a camera out, turned off the flash, and took a picture. He would see Colin later about getting the film developed.

He went over to Harry and shook the raven head gently. Harry gently stirred awake. He looked over at Seamus who smiled.

"Breakfast started about ten minutes ago. You turned your alarm off so we assumed you didn't want to be bothered, but I figured that you need to get up."

Harry sat up gently to avoid waking Hope and rubbed his eyes.

Seamus looked at him. "Are you feeling okay, Harry? You look a bit pale."

Harry shook his head. "I might be getting a bit of a cold. I'll go to Professor Snape later for a potion."

Seamus nodded, obviously at ease over the fact that Harry would get help. He gave a pointed look at Hope, and Harry looked at him with a sad expression on his face.

"Do I really have to wake her? She's not been sleeping."

Seamus laughed softly. "It's not a good idea to let her wake up in the boy's dormitory by herself. I, for one, do like my sleeping arrangements."

Harry sneezed, then looked over to see if he had awoken Hope. She was still sleeping, although she did curl up tighter.

"I'll stay with her, go ahead and go to class, I'm not feeling that great anyway."

Seamus nodded and threw his robe on over his clothes before leaving. He would tell Professor Snape at breakfast what was going on.

Harry on the other hand, curled back up beside his girlfriend to go back to sleep.

* * *

Severus walked up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room a bit worried. Hope and Harry had missed all of their morning classes for a cold, as Seamus described it. He snapped at a first year in the hallway before storming through the common room. Everyone was at lunch except for Hermione and Draco who were coming down from the boys dormitory.

"Draco?" Severus called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Dad! What are you doing here?"

"I, as a Professor, have the right to enter any room or building that I see fit. On the other hand, you, as a Slytherin, have no reason to be in the Gryffindor common room."

"Sir, it's my fault." Hermione interrupted. "I was worried about Hope and Harry, and Draco was naturally worried about his sister, so I encouraged him to come in with me. I'm sorry."

Severus shook his head at the teenagers. "I'm not angry, merely worried about my daughter and her boyfriend. Are they okay?"

Draco made a face. "Both are sleeping soundly."

Hermione smacked his arm. "Both are sleeping, but they both also look flushed. They were shivering so we laid an extra blanket over them. It's probably just a cold, like Seamus said."

Severus nodded. He moved past the two teens upstairs to see for himself. He walked over to Hope and laid a hand on her forehead. He felt her lean into his hand before he yanked it away in realization at how hot she was.

"Hope, wake up," he said gently, shaking her.

Hope turned and buried her head into Harry's chest. Harry stirred and looked at the potions master.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"When I noticed that both my daughter and her boyfriend had missed their morning classes, I became worried. Therefore, I decided to come check on you."

Harry smirked sleepily. "You were worried about me."

Severus rolled his eyes. "I was worried about my daughter. You, I can heal with a mere potion."

He threw a pepper up potion at the boy, who caught it with his seeker reflexes. He eyed it for a moment before downing it. Instantly, he felt better and sat up completely.

Severus turned his attention to his daughter. Without Harry's body heat next to her any longer, she curled up into a ball and began shivering.

"Hope," he called, trying to wake the girl.

Hope groaned and rolled away from the shaking hands. "Go 'way. Don't feel good."

Severus was persistent. "I know, Lea. If you wake up, I can help."

Hope turned over and rubbed her eyes. She looked up at her father and sighed. "I missed class, didn't I?"

He smiled at her as he removed some muggle cold medicine from his robe. "You did. But that's normally what a student does when they are sick."

Hope groaned. "I'll have to make Hermione catch me up after quidditch practice."

Severus shook his head at his daughter. "No quidditch, no school work. Not tonight. You are going to stay in this bed and sleep until tomorrow morning. You're severely sleep-deprived and until you are 100 percent better, you will stay in this bed."

Hope smiled sleepily. "Can Harry stay with me?"

Severus made a face. "Sure, he needs to rest today as well. Just to make sure it was a simple cold."

Harry looked like he was going to protest, but Severus silenced him with a look.

"Let me talk to him about how to take proper care of you, since you don't know how, then you can have him back," he teased her lightly.

"Mm 'kay," Hope mumbled, turning back into the pillow.

Severus led Harry over to a corner of the dormitory. "She needs to stay in bed tonight, but if you go wandering about the castle, she will want to come as well. Please just stay in bed with her. Make her eat something next time she wakes up and give her another spoonful of this," he instructed, handing Harry the bottle. "Please, Harry?"

Harry nodded and took the bottle from Severus. The man was obviously grateful.

"Thank you. She's going to kill herself if she doesn't start taking care of herself. You both are excused from classes today and tomorrow."

Harry nodded and went back to where Hope was sleeping. He watched Severus leave the room before he crawled back into bed and fell back asleep.

* * *

Harry woke up again a couple hours later when Hermione snuck upstairs with Draco, after the afternoon classes. Harry put a finger to his lips to show them that Hope was still asleep. They nodded and sat on the end of the bed since Hope was curled up against Harry.

Harry looked at Draco and almost laughed. "Good to see you finally decided it was safe to enter the lion's den."

Draco made a face. "I only came to see how my sister is doing, and maybe to check on my best friend as well."

Harry laughed quietly. "We're excused from classes for two days, I'm already better but she fights sleep if someone isn't with her, and it isn't nightmares," he said at their looks. "Just being to busy to want to sleep, unless someone makes her. We really need to watch her more carefully, or she'll run herself down to nothing."

Everyone nodded. They talked for a couple minutes before the other guys in Gryffindor came into the room. Draco looked uneasy and got up to leave, but the rest of the boys assured him he was welcome so he sat down, though it was obvious that he was expecting a curse of some kind to come flying at him.

Harry felt Hope start to stir and turned to the other two. "Go get some soup or something from the kitchens. If you can handle it, eat the same thing so she doesn't seem like she's getting left out."

The two nodded and left. Harry watched Hope as she woke up and smiled at her. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty."

"You really need to learn my name," she muttered.

Harry smiled and kissed her forehead. "Then I don't get to see that gorgeous blush of yours."

Hope pushed at him. "I want food."

Harry laughed. "I sent Draco and Hermione to get some. They should be back anytime."

"If they aren't making out in some hallway."

"We heard that!" Hermione yelled as she walked in with a tray in her hand. Draco was following with another one.

"And we do not make out in hallways. I do have some sense of decorum, Hope. Unlike you and your boyfriend."

Hope glared at her brother as she took a bowl of soup. She mixed in crackers and ate about a half a bowl before pushing it away. She took the medicine that Severus left with Harry and fell back asleep a few minutes after Draco left to go to quidditch practice.

Harry continued talking with Hermione for awhile before she left to go do some homework. Harry shook his head and watched Hope sleep for awhile before succumbing to the land of darkness and dreams himself.

--

A/N: Here's the next chapter. After this things start to pick up again pretty soon :D.   
Thanks to my beta who got this beta'd so I could post so quickly. Same game with the next chapter.  
Kayla 


	8. Chapter Eight: Quidditch Match

Disclaimer: I do not own it.

--

Chapter 8: Quidditch Match

Hope got over her cold and began catching up on her work. With her friend's help, she was able to sleep more and still manage to get her work done. Hermione was slightly jealous because Hope became the top of all her classes. Hope was learning more about wandless magic and was finally getting the grasp of things. She was enjoying her schoolwork and quidditch, and was anticipating her first match of the season, which happened today, October 19th.

"You nervous?" Hermione asked her as she sat next to her at the table.

Hope turned toward her. "Not a chance. I don't get nervous."

Hermione laughed. "Good. I remember Harry and Ronald were both complete wrecks before their first games."

Hope laughed. "I bet they were. I don't think I've ever been nervous for anything. Maybe the Halloween ball, but my life was on the line then. This is just a game. One that means a lot to everyone, but its not worth dying over."

"As your captain, I am thoroughly pleased to hear that my chaser will not be jumping off her broom to grab the quaffle." Harry sat as he sat down next to her and gave her a kiss.

Hope giggled. "You mean, you don't want me doing gymnastics on of my broom?"

Harry mock-glared at her. "I really don't want you doing gymnastics off your broom, much less on your broom."

Hope giggled again. She hurriedly ate her breakfast and rushed out onto the field with Harry for their pre-game talk. Harry explained about how this was their first match and how they had to leave an impact. Hope grinned as she listened to him, an idea formulating in her head.

Harry finished his speech. Then they walked out of the locker room and onto the pitch, where someone was announcing the members of the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams. Hope mounted her broom and turned to Harry, who was looking at her expectantly.

Hope smiled and watched as he walked over to give her a kiss before the game. She pulled away and laughed at the look on his face.

"The sooner you catch the snitch, the sooner you get a kiss," she teased. Harry pouted but she only laughed harder.

"So I guess I'll hurry and go catch that little bugger," he whined, amusement shining in his eyes.

The whistle sounded and everyone kicked off. Hope immediately gained possession of the ball and scored a goal. The game continued and after three hours, Gryffindor was leading 120 to 10.

Hope looked up and saw Harry searching frantically for the snitch. "C'mon, Harry!" Hope yelled.

Harry turned to look at her and came speeding toward her. Hope looked at him like he was crazy before he pushed her roughly out of the way. Hope heard the snap of a bone before she felt herself falling through the air.

Hope closed her eyes and focused all her wandless magic.

"Accio Broom!" She yelled.

She saw her broom flying towards her and mounted it before racing off to grab Harry. She pulled him roughly on her broom and landed softly on the ground. Madam Hooch was already out there with Madam Pomfrey.

Hope set Harry on the ground and was relieved to see he was conscious. "What did you do that for?!"

Harry grimaced. "That bludger was going to hit you in the head. What else was I supposed to do?"

Hope eyed his shoulder. "It broke, you do realize that, right? And there is no way you can play now."

Harry winced. "I know, but you can fill in for seeker. Dean and Ginny will be fine as chasers and Alexia can fill in."

Hope sighed. "Harry, I'm not anywhere near as good as you are. You should have let me get hit with the bludger."

"You'd be dead. Plus, can't you just heal me?"

"After the amount of wandless magic I just performed? My magic is drained."

Harry made a face. "Guess that means hospital wing then. Seriously, Hope, it's fine. It'll take me an hour to heal, where as you would be in a sling for six weeks."

Hope sighed and nodded. She told him she would visit him later before flying up to where the team was gathered. She motioned to Alexia from where she was sitting on the bench to come up and join the team. After she was up there, Hope filled everyone in.

She quickly changed strategies and took her focus off the game below while she hunted for a glint of gold. The game went on for another two hours before Hope saw it hovering over by the teacher's viewing area. Hope sped off on her broom and easily caught the gold ball.

"That's it!" The announcer screamed. "Hope Collin's has caught the snitch. Gryffindor wins 350-130!"

Hope raced down towards the ground. She landed, and rather than wait for her team, sped off toward the school and to the hospital wing. She was met halfway there by the person she was looking for.

"Hope?" Harry said, catching her as she ran into him.

"What are you doing out of the hospital wing?"

Harry laughed. "Madam Pomfrey doesn't even try keeping me in there anymore. She figures it is easier to let me go than to listen to me complain. I heard the game was still going, so I came to watch."

Hope grinned and held up the golden snitch. "I caught it!"

Harry made a baby face. "Does that mean I get my kiss now, because Gryffindor did win?"

Hope laughed and gave her boyfriend a kiss. "Happy now?" She asked after pulling away.

"Very," Harry replied as he smirked while leading the way back to where the team was celebrating.

"I'm glad, because the world would end if the famous Harry Potter wasn't happy."

Harry laughed. "I know, who would be able to face Voldemort?"

Hope went to reply but lost the sensations of the world as her vision filled with dark blue sparkles. She felt herself fall backwards and hit the ground before she was completely lost in another place.

"My beautiful spy, what news do you have to bring me?"

"Potter and that girl are inseparable. If you see one, I promise the other is there. But I know a weak spot in their relationship. Hope is still afraid that Harry will betray her."

Voldemort's red eyes gleamed mischievously. "And do you have a plan to break them up?"

The figure bowed. "I do, my Lord. Potter is unaware of the swarms of girls that fall at his feet. With a little help from a potion and a spell, he will notice them loud and clear. And if his precious girl walks in on them, well, she would naturally believe he was doing it himself."

The glee was obvious in Voldemort's eyes. "Good job, my spy. And you are positive you can pull this off without either of them finding out who you are?"

"I am certain, my Lord. Neither suspects me in the least. To them, I'm still just another trustworthy girl in their circle of friends."

Voldemort nodded. "Then you are dismissed. Ensure that you do not get attacked by the bowtruckles on your way back to the school. The old fool seriously thought I would be stupid enough to not know that the tree huggers were now on his side."

The figure bowed again. "Very well. Until next time." She apparated out.

Hope saw the dark sparkles again before her vision cleared. Her head was pounding but she sat up anyway. She saw her father standing above her worriedly and took the hand he offered to help her up.

When she stood up, dizziness overtook her and she fell back against someone.

"Hope?" The voice behind her said. She recognized it as Draco. "Are you okay?"

Hope nodded. "I need to get to dad's quarters."

Hope felt someone else's arm snake around her waist. She recognized the touch and instantly leaned against her boyfriend. "We have to talk," she muttered against him.

She felt Harry nod as he led her back toward the school. Once in the dungeons, Hope spilled what she had seen to the headmaster, her father, brother, best friend, and boyfriend. She had a plan forming in her mind and she had to see if it would work.

"So we know that the spy is a girl in my circle of friends. So it could be a friend of mine or Hermione's. Someone who knows inside information. I know of five people. I say we flush them out."

Everyone looked at Hope like she had lost it. Hope shook her head and continued. "Seriously. All five of them would keep a secret if I asked them to. Obviously what they want is for Harry and me to break up. What if I tell each of them that Harry and I are having problems, but give a different reason to each. That way, we will know which one it is by which rumor Voldemort hears. It can't be any of us because Voldemort doesn't know that Seamus is a spy."

Everyone nodded, though nobody was exactly enthused with the idea. They sighed and talked it out for an hour before something else came up.

"Why did you become so dizzy after your vision?" Draco asked. "That's never happened before."

Hope shrugged. "I think it might have been because I had already used so much energy doing the wandless magic, plus visions about Voldemort are always more draining than the others. The two combined may have contributed to the dizziness. I feel fine now, so its nothing to worry about."

Draco accepted that, but her father was always another story. "Nevertheless, I would feel more comfortable if you stayed down in my rooms tonight. After all, it is a weekend."

Hope made a face. "I'll miss the party."

"Go to the party, then come back. Is that fair?"

Hope sighed. "Yes, sir."

Severus shook his head and ruffled the girls hair, earning him a glare. "Get over it, Lea. Get some rest before your celebration. You earned it."

Hope smiled as she watched her father retreat into his office.

--

A/N: Here's the next one. Thanks to my beta, who though she is incredibly busy, still finds time to edit my chapters for me :D. Thanks Nita!!  
Same deal for next one.  
Kayla :P


	9. Chapter Nine: Rumors

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

--

Chapter 9: Rumors

Hope and Harry started the rumors the next day. Hope awoke early and met Harry in the common room. After a quick kiss and a wink, Harry started the plan by yelling at Hope.

"You always think you're right. But you're not right about this."

"Oh, come on, Potter. I always think I'm right? What about you? You think because you take on Voldemort, you have to be right about everything. Get it through your thick skull: You are completely wrong!"

Harry glared at Hope as a part of the act. "Oh, now you have to bring Voldemort into this? It's almost like you're jealous that I got away from him on my own and you didn't."

Hope forced a hurt look on her face. "I was only in that position because I met you. Otherwise they never would have found me. In fact, it's all your fault that I'm in this place to begin with."

"As if you mind being here. Leaching off of my friends."

"Your friends know when they find something better. Obviously."

"Ugh! You're impossible!" Harry screamed.

Hope rolled her eyes. "I'm impossible, huh? That's right, I'm always the one who is impossible. Forget this, I'm out of here."

She turned around and stormed out of the common room, ignoring the group of people who had gathered around. She went down to her father's quarters where she died laughing at the questioning look on her brother's face.

"Did it go okay? Did people fall for it?"

"Yes and yes. People were gathered around at the end of it, looking all pathetic and feeling so sorry for us. It was hilarious."

Draco gave his sister a look. "I wouldn't call fooling the entire school into thinking you and Harry are fighting hilarious, but whatever. Ready for part two?"

Hope smiled and nodded. Draco got up off the couch and led the way down to the Great Hall. Hope marched over and sat with the Slytherins, knowing that this week she was supposed to sit with the Gryffindors.

They were about halfway through breakfast when Hope focused on where Harry was sitting. She turned his plate around magically and caused the food to fly up and hit him in the face. The entire Slytherin table started laughing.

Harry turned around and glared before drawing his wand. At that moment, Snape stepped in as planned.

"Mr. Potter, drawing your wand during breakfast. I would say that requires that 30 points be taken from Gryffindor, plus a detention with me directly after breakfast."

Harry glared at the professor. Hope laughed along with the rest of the Slytherin table. She stood up with her brother and Blaise, and left to go outside to the lake. Hermione joined them and plopped down in her boyfriend's lap, and following her was Alexia.

"So Hope, what's going on with you and Harry?" Alexia asked as she sat down. "It wouldn't do for quidditch to be messed up because of a lover's quarrel."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes, because Gryffindor needs help to completely suck."

Everyone turned to glare at the blonde. Hope rolled her eyes and turned back to the girl.

"Harry and I are merely disagreeing on how to defeat Voldemort. We both want him dead, but we don't see eye to eye on how to accomplish that."

"Oh. I say we just slaughter the dude and cut his head off as a trophy," Alexia said flippantly.

Hope made a face. "Well, neither of us plan on doing something that gruesome."

Alexia laughed and stood up. "Well, just get it worked out before quidditch tonight. That's my only concern."

Hope laughed. "We'll have it resolved long before then. Thanks for the general concern though."

Everyone watched as she walked away before Hope turned back to Hermione. "She doesn't seem like she is the spy. She was the top on my list because she showed up out of nowhere and started hanging around us. I think she's just trying to make friends though."

Hermione nodded. "I agree. I told Ginny that you and Harry were arguing over her because you didn't want Harry to be around. And I told Padma and Parvati you guys were arguing over who was going to be a better seeker for quidditch."

"Awesome," Hope said. "That only leaves us to deal with Lavender."

"I am supposed to talk to her after I leave here. We are going to study for Arithmancy together, so she'll be bugging me for details then."

Hope nodded. "In that case, I'm going to make my way to my father's quarters and see if I can manage to get a vision. It wouldn't do to be out here when I got one."

Hermione, Draco and Blaise nodded. Hope stood and went down to the dungeons. She went inside and saw her boyfriend. Running up to him, she gave him a huge hug.

"I'm sorry for everything I said this morning. I know I strayed a bit from what we rehearsed, but it sounded right."

Harry laughed. "I knew we were just joking around. It's not a big deal."

Hope smiled. "I'm glad. Everyone except Lavender has been told their stories, so I am going to have Severus cast the spell to force me into a vision."

Harry nodded. Hope called for her father and he came into the room. A look at Hope's face showed what she wanted, so Severus set down the book he was reading and walked into the sitting room. He motioned for Hope and Harry to sit down, and waited as they did so, before explaining what would happen.

"Hope, as you should remember from your training, this doesn't necessarily mean that you will get a vision about Voldemort. You can get a vision about anything, even though it usually goes with whatever is plaguing your thoughts the most at the time of the spell being cast."

Hope nodded. "I understand, Dad. Let's get going."

Hope watched her father cast the spell before her vision once again swirled with dark blue sparkles. Hope watched carefully until the sparkles died away and she found herself in another place.

_"What news do you have for me, my loyal spy?" Hope glared as she recognized the voice. _

_  
"The girl and Potter had a serious fight this morning. Woke up our entire common room."_

_  
Hope saw Voldemort's eyes as they became alive with curiosity. _

_  
"And what were they fighting about?"_

_  
The figure seemed to become nervous at this point. "I'm not sure, my Lord. Everyone has a different story. It rangers from being as petty as quidditch, to being as serious as how they plan on killing you." _

_Voldemort eyed the figure. "Did you ask them directly?"_

_  
The figure nodded. "I did, but the story they told me is different than what they told others. I am afraid they are trying to flush me out."_

_  
Voldemort's rage was obvious. "Do not let them figure out who you are or I will torture you to the point that you beg for death."_

_  
The figure bowed. "I have no intention of being found out, my Lord. But I will use this opportunity to try to drive my two housemates apart." _

_  
"Very good, my spy, do not fail me."_

_  
"I won't, my Lord."_

Hope's vision was covered with sparkles again until she rejoined her father and boyfriend, letting curse words flow from her mouth.

"Hope Leanne! Watch your mouth or you'll regret learning such words," her father said harshly from the doorway. "What did you learn?"

"The spy knows we were trying to flush them out. All I learned was that the spy was in Gryffindor and she would use it to push us apart. Which only knocks one person off our list."

Severus sighed. "You tried your best. We just have to watch who we trust. It's not the first time Voldemort had someone we trusted working against us."

Hope nodded dejectedly. "I know, but it still worries me. I don't want to have to watch my back."

Severus gave her a sympathetic glance. "I understand, but at least you know you can trust some people. However, I do not think it would hurt to let this pretend fight continue on awhile longer. It might prove beneficial."

Hope thought it over for a few moments before agreeing. "For how long?"

"A few days, at the most."

"A few days!?" Harry butted in.

"Yes, it would help to flush them out. Hope said that they were looking to push the two of you away from each other. How many of your friends would want that?"

Hope rolled her eyes. "Almost every girl in school. Plus Ginny is going to be all over him, and she's too much of a coward to join ranks with Voldemort."

Severus nodded. "I agree, but I still think it's worth the chance."

Hope sighed. "Of course you do, it's not your boyfriend who will be flanked by beautiful girls fawning over him."

Harry pulled her onto his lap. "You're the most beautiful girl in the school, so you have absolutely nothing to worry about."

Hope pouted. "Fine."

He kissed her softly, but it didn't take the pouty look off her face. "Hope, I love you, don't worry about anything. I'm not going to betray you."

Hope sighed. "I don't have a choice but to live with it. Promise we can still meet up in the mornings."

"Deal."

Severus smiled at the interaction. "Harry you should probably leave through my office and say you just got done with detention. Oh and thirty points to Gryffindor for stupendous acting skills."

Harry smiled and left after another giving his girlfriend one last kiss. Hope watched him leave before turning back her father.

"I don't like this, Dad. Ginny will be after me now that we are 'fighting'."

Severus sat down next to his daughter. "I'll arrange it so Draco stays with you if you are worried about it."

Hope shook her head. "I can take care of myself. It's Harry I'm worried about."

"You just have to trust him, Lea. He's got a good head on his shoulders, he won't do anything stupid."

Hope sighed and leaned against her father. "I hope not. Can I stay here till quidditch practice tonight? I have to be on the pitch with the Slytherin's at five until eight, then with the Gryffindor's from eight till ten."

Severus eyed the girl because of her tight schedule but nodded. She was looking exhausted, but he handed her the book she requested and sat down next to her with his own tome.

The two sat reading side by side. Severus looked over at his daughter somewhere around noon and smiled. She was asleep against her book. Severus took the book and marked her page before laying her down onto the couch completely and covering her with a blanket. He leaned over and kissed her forehead before going into the lab to make a few potions and let the girl sleep peacefully.

--

A/N: Hey guys. Here's chapter 9. What do you think? Love it, Hate it? Let me know.  
By the way, you all have Nita to thank for you getting this chapter so quickly. She's such a wonderful beta, isn't she!?  
Anyway, you won't get the next chapter until after I start school, which is in two days. It all depends on how long it takes me to unpack and get settled into my dormroom and how hectic my schedule is. So sorry!   
Kayla :P


	10. Chapter Ten: Fighting

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own it.

--

Chapter 10: "Fighting"

Hope went out to quidditch practice and had to sigh. Harry was up in the skies training with Ginny. He showed her some tricks on his broom and Hope felt her heart clench. She heard movement behind her and saw her brother coming with a couple more members of the team.

He looked up into the sky and shook his head before mounting his broom and kicking off. Hope did the same with her broom and caught up with him just as he stopped in front of the two.

"Excuse me, but Slytherin has the pitch reserved until eight. I suggest you come back after that."

"Gee, Malfoy, we were just messing around. We'll leave you to your practice. Merlin knows you need it more than we do," Ginny said as she rolled her eyes. "Come on, Harry, let's go to the common room."

Hope glared at the redhead as she landed her broom and grabbed Harry by the hand. Harry threw her a hidden sympathetic look before grasping Ginny's hand and following her into the common room.

"Okay, guys. Now that we've gotten rid of the pathetic lions, I want to try something new tonight. It's come to my attention, that some of us aren't playing the correct position. Therefore, we are all going to switch up our positions for the night. I want Hope to play seeker, all other positions are fair game."

Hope watched as Draco made changes to the positions. The other two chasers ended up becoming beaters, while one of the beaters became keeper and the keeper and other beater became chasers along with Draco.

"Okay, now I've made a few calls and have arranged to have some of our old players come in and play. We're going to have a quidditch match right here and now. Hope, you may be playing seeker, but I want you to help out the chasers and beaters as well. This idea could be completely worthless, but I need to give it a try."

Hope nodded. Draco flicked his wand and the balls flew into the air. Hope watched the snitch fly off before losing track of it. She flew down and grabbed the ball from the air and tossed it toward Draco, while turning around and looking for the snitch.

Thirty minutes into the game, Hope was extremely worn out. She flew down where her brother was and called a time out. "I can't play more than one position, Draco. It's too challenging and I'm losing focus of the snitch."

Draco nodded and told her to switch to full time seeker. Hope let out a sigh of relief and began scanning the pitch for the little golden ball.

After flying around a few times, she spotted it near the ground. She flew off full speed and caught the ball before flipping off her broom.

"Hope!" Draco yelled, almost jumping off his broom before it hit the ground. "Are you okay?"

Hope rubbed her head and sore arms. "A little tired. But I got the snitch!"

Draco shook his head. "It's not worth your life. Sit out the rest of practice. Everyone else prepare for another game."

"No way! I have practice after this with the Gryffindor's anyway. It's not going to hurt me."

Draco watched his sister carefully. "I'm the captain and I make these calls. I'm sorry, sis, but you just smacked your head on some pretty hard ground. I'm not letting you get back on a broom."

Hope glared at him and sat down on the bench. "Fine," she muttered.

Draco gave her a sympathetic look. Her replacement for Gryffindor games flew up to take her place and she watched the game be replayed. Finally, right as the Gryffindor's were coming out, the girl caught the snitch and the entire team flew down to the ground.

Draco made his way over to where Hope was. Hope was rather glad to be on the ground. Her head was pounding and when she went to stand, she got a bit lightheaded.

Draco gave her a worried look as he leaned forward to touch her forehead.

"You got yourself a nasty bump there, sis. But you did make an excellent seeker. Catching the snitch in one hour while playing all positions; that's better than me."

Hope sighed. "Great, but now I have to practice with the Gryffindor's and I can't say I'm exactly happy."

Draco gave her a sympathetic look. "Boyfriend or headache?"

"Both."

Hope winced as he brushed his hand across the bump on her head. "Are you okay to play or do I need to get Severus to excuse you from practice?"

"I'm okay. I'll never live it down if I practice with Slytherin but not with Gryffindor. But can you send Hermione out? Just in case something does go wrong?"

Draco nodded and went inside. He stopped and pulled Harry aside for a moment. Harry shot a worried look in her direction before nodding to Draco. He made a beeline straight for her after Draco walked away.

"Hope, are you okay to practice? If not, the team would understand."

Hope rolled her eyes. "Whatever my exaggerating brother just told you, Potter, I assure you I will not let it interfere with your practice."

Harry grabbed her and pulled her to the side away from listening ears. "I don't care about our fight right now, I care about whether you are going to kill yourself if you get up on that broom."

Hope rolled her eyes again. "I will be fine, don't let little old me worry you."

Harry was confused. "Hope, are you seriously mad at me?"

Hope sighed. "We'll talk later, after practice, in my father's quarters."

Harry nodded and stormed off. Hope sighed and mounted her broom to join the rest of the team.

They practiced for awhile until Hope began to get lightheaded again. She landed on the ground and saw that there was only another ten minutes of practice left anyway.

"Hope, what are you doing? Get back up here!" One of the players yelled.

"I can't," Hope said as she fell against the bench. "I need a break."

Hermione came over from where she was sitting and looked at her best friend. "You okay?" She asked worriedly.

Hope locked eyes with her best friend. "Just a little tired, lack of sleep catching up with me."

Hermione watched as she went to take a step and was off balance. She grabbed her best friend's arm and led her toward the school. "More than a little tired."

Hope muttered something under her breath about her broom. Hermione rolled her eyes and looked up to find Harry.

"Harry, we're going inside. Grab Hope's broom and bring it to me after practice."

Harry nodded, but looked upset at having to do such a task. Hope smiled, knowing it was all part of the act before she allowed Hermione to lead her down to the dungeons. Hope said the password to get into her father's quarters and was surprised when she saw Draco down there reading a book.

"What are you doing down here?" Hope asked as Hermione led her over to sit next to him.

"It's technically still the weekend, so I figured you'd come down here after practice."

Hope laid down on the couch, using her brother as a pillow. "Since you're so kind to wait for me, want to go get Dad for me?"

Draco gave her a sympathetic look. "Headache?"

"Major one. The ground wasn't as soft as it looked."

Draco laughed. "If I get up, you lose your pillow."

Hope made a face. "Never mind, I'll live."

Hermione volunteered to go get him, so the two let her, neither wanting to move from their comfortable spot. Sometime in waiting for her father, Hope drifted off to sleep.

Severus came out looking slightly worried. "Hope, I thought you said Quidditch wasn't worth getting killed…" He trailed off looking at his sleeping daughter.

"Sorry, Dad. She was bored to sleep," Draco said from the couch.

Hermione giggled and Severus gave the boy a sharp look. He went over to Hope and inspected the bump on her head. He rolled his eyes and set two pills on the table for her to take when she woke up, before going back to the lab while muttering about children who take stupid risks.

Hermione was about to sit down in the chair across from Draco when there was a knock on the door. Rolling her eyes, she went to answer it. She smiled at Harry standing in the doorway, holding a broom in his hand.

"Ginny took mine back to the common room. Is Hope alright?"

"She's sleeping on her brother's lap. I think she's just overly tired."

Harry raised an eyebrow and entered the room to see the sight and started laughing. "Got a camera by chance?"

Hermione laughed. "I do! In my bag! They used it to take a picture of the two of you sleeping together and gave it to me to get developed since Colin uses magical cameras."

Harry laughed as she dug through her bag and got it out. They took a picture and watched as Severus came back through.

"Hey, Dad?" Draco ventured.

"Yes, Draco?" Severus said, turning around to face his son.

"Can Hermione and Harry sleep over tonight? We'll all stay in the living room, that way nobody has to move Hope, and she doesn't wake up feeling stupid for falling asleep."

Severus looked like he was about to shoot down the idea before he shrugged his shoulders and said sure. The teens all celebrated quietly. Eventually, Draco and Harry switched spots.

After talking about everything they could think of, the other three teens eventually fell asleep, content just to be able to hang out with those they care about the most.

--

A/N: Okay, guys. I'm officially in my school now. My dorm room is pretty neat, though its cold and the beds are uncomfortable. :( OH well, I guess I'll have to live, huh? Well, I'm not sure how soon I'll get the next chapter to you with my horrible schedule, but I'll work on it.  
Kayla


	11. Chapter Eleven: New Training

Disclaimer: I dont' own it

--

Chapter Eleven: New Training

Hope woke the next morning and rubbed her head to fight off the pounding in her head. She looked over and saw the two painkillers on the table from the night before and gratefully downed them. She got up and looked around the room with a smile. Harry was sitting on the couch where she just was laying, and Draco and Hermione were curled up on the loveseat across from them.

Hope turned and went to take a shower and change into her robes. She came back out a half hour later and noticed everyone still sleeping.

She shook her head and went into her room to grab her bag. When she came back out, she saw her father eyeing the other teens with a small smile on his face.

"Almost makes you wish you didn't have to wake them up, huh?"

Severus smiled at her and nodded. He walked over to her and inspected the fading bump on her head from last night.

"You feel any lightheadedness?"

Hope shook her head. "Other than the remainder of a headache, I'm fine."

Severus nodded and squeezed her shoulder. She smiled up at him and went to wake her boyfriend up. Smirking, she leaned forward in the privacy of her father's quarters and kissed him till he began to stir.

Harry blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the light before looking over at his girlfriend and grinning. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down to where she was sitting on his lap.

"And here I thought you were mad at me last night."

Hope looked away and bit her lip. "I was. Still am, kind of. But it doesn't matter anymore."

Harry put his finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. "Why?"

"Because you chose to hang out with Ginny. Even if we are 'fighting', I can't believe you would willing do anything with her. She hates me and will use this to take advantage of you."

Harry smiled at her. "She can try anything she wants. I have told you this several times. I love you, not her. Nothing you do will change that. Do you understand?"

Hope nodded. "Do we have to keep fighting?"

Harry turned to Severus, who had successfully awakened the other two teens. "Do we?" He asked.

Severus eyed his daughter before shaking his head. "I think it's gone on long enough. If nothing has come from it yet, then I don't believe anything will."

Hope smiled happily and hugged Harry. She got off of his lap and helped his stand before pointing to the bathroom. Harry rolled his eyes and went and showered and changed. They took turns until everyone had gotten ready, then prepared to head to breakfast.

"Hope, before you leave," Severus stopped them at the door, "I would like for you and Harry to come down here after dinner. I believe it's time for you to begin your next training procedure."

Hope groaned. "Is there going to be another book?"

Severus shook his head. "No, but in the end, you will wish there was."

Hope sighed and nodded that she would be there, and then left for breakfast.

--

Potions and Transfiguration went by with nothing interesting happening. Soon, it was time for Hope and Harry to make their way to the potion master's quarters, where neither knew what to expect.

Hope cautiously opened the door, prepared to dodge some curse. Instead, she found her father sitting casually in a chair.

"Dad?" She asked curiously as she walked into the room.

"Come on in. Hope, you need to sit down, and Harry, try to prevent her from breaking anything while I explain this to her."

Hope raised an eyebrow as the two teens sat on the couch.

"As you well know, Hope, Voldemort is focused on killing you before he even considers going after Harry. You have to be prepared for any spell, curse, or hex that they send your way. Even curses that take away your senses."

Hope glared. "There is no way. You are not doing this to me."

Severus raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you want to win or be killed? I've seen duels with Voldemort before, Hope. He does things to weaken his opponent before attacking them. He will take away your sight, your sense of sound, and anything else he can to make you defenseless. You need to be prepared."

Hope continued glaring at her father. "Fine, for how long?"

Severus smiled at her sadly. "We'll start by taking away your sight. It will stay like that until you master how to deal with the loss. Then we'll return your sight and do the same thing to your senses of sound and smell."

"How could taking away my sense of smell hurt me?"

Severus watched her. "You could use it to find out where you are, by recognizing the smell of wood, or asphalt, or any number of things. It could also help you recognize different potions so that you know the antidote."

"Oh."

Severus nodded. "Are you ready to do this?"

"Whatever."

"I will give you until the weekend to become accustomed to the loss before we begin your actual training."

Hope sighed. She closed her eyes and grabbed Harry's hand to know he was still there. She heard her father mutter a spell and opened her eyes to darkness.

"How am I going to get along without being able to see?"

"Harry and your friends will show you how to get somewhere once, and then you will use your other senses to figure it out."

Hope nodded jerkily. She was trapped in this darkness and it was starting to scare her.

"And if I'm attacked?" Hope asked shakily.

"There will be someone with you at all times until I am certain you are able to defend yourself," her father replied.

He rose and then knelt in front of her. placing his hands on her shoulders.

"You will do fine with this, Hope. Just remember, that it is one more step toward defeating Voldemort."

Hope nodded and stood. She knew that the door was to her left, but she wasn't sure how far it was. She heard Harry stand and moved beside her. She cautiously began walking toward the direction of the door and put her hands out to feel for it. She felt the wall and started moving towards where she thought it was.

Harry grabbed her elbow and turned her the other direction. She sighed and let him lead her out the door. She paid careful attention as he led her to the common room, counting her steps and focusing on sounds around her. When she arrived at the common room, she was not confident that she could find her way back.

Hope followed Harry into the Gryffindor common room where she was overwhelmed by the loud noises. She backed up against the wall and began turning her head from side to side.

"Hope?" Harry asked from somewhere in front of her. "You okay?"

Hope shook her head. "There's so much noise, I can't figure out where it's coming from, or how to differentiate between all the different voices."

Harry gave her a sympathetic look even though she couldn't see it. "How about we go find Hermione and your brother. They are probably looking for us to find out what the new training entails."

Hope sighed and nodded. She felt Harry grab her hand and lead her downstairs. She noticed the temperature change and figured that they had gone outside. As Hope kept walking, she heard the water of the lake.

"Harry, Hope!" Hope heard Hermione yell. She turned her head in that general direction, but couldn't be sure exactly sure where she was.

"Hope?" Hermione's voice came a little more to her right. Hope turned toward her and took a step forward. "Harry, what's wrong with her?"

Hope, encouraged by her best friends voice, walked toward where she thought she was. She made it to Hermione, but successfully tripped over her brother first.

Hope sat on the ground against a tree and closed her eyes. "I'm never going to get this."

Harry laughed and she felt him sit next to her. "Hermione, to answer your question, Professor Snape decided that it would be beneficial to Hope to learn how to get along without her sight."

"That's just cruel," Draco said in Hope's defense.

"It's actually a good idea. It would be an advantage if a spell knocks the power out or a curse hits her eyes."

Hope listened to them argue over whether it was a good idea and then other things as they switched topics. Eventually, she must have dozed off, because she jerked awake when she felt someone shaking her.

"Hope?" Harry's voice came from above her.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Don't be. Come on, let's try the common room again."

Hope sighed and let him pull her to her feet. Harry started to pull her with him, but Hermione stopped him.

"She needs to learn to find her own way around, Harry. Lead her, let her use her sense of hearing to follow us. If she goes the wrong way, let her."

"Hermione, that's cruel!"

Hermione shook her head. "It is not. From what you've said, she has four days to get used to it before she has to dodge curses. Are you going to baby her?"

"Hermione, you're my best friend. But don't tell me you seriously think I should be allowed to wander off and get attacked. Besides, my dad doesn't want me left alone."

"You won't be alone, we'll be right in front of you. We'll watch out for you."

Hope sighed and motioned for them to go. She tilted her head to the side as she listened to their footsteps. She heard grass moving and followed the sound.

Several times along the way she ran into something, or tripped. When Draco walked off to go to the Slytherin room, she tried to follow him, being confused by two sets of footfalls.. She had more bruises than she cared to count, but they still refused to lead her. Finally, everyone stopped, causing Hope to run into Harry.

Hermione said the password and the three went into the now almost empty common room. Hope, once again, got disoriented by the few voices, but managed to still follow Hermione, although still running into things and people. She made it up to the dormitory and let a huge smile come across her face.

"I did it!" Hope exclaimed.

"I knew you could!" Hermione said.

Hope felt around and made her way to her bed. She smiled as she found clothes to change into and magically switched the colors so she knew they matched. She changed quickly and fell into bed, where she quickly fell into a comfortable sleep.

--

A/N: Hey Everyone, here's the next chapter. Let me know what you think.  
Kayla


	12. Chapter Twelve: Harsh Training

Disclaimer: Dont' own it

--

Chapter 12: Harsh Training

Hope managed to get through the next few days the same way. She was confidently able to find her own way to all of her classes, to her father's quarters, to both common rooms, the entrance hall, and anywhere else in the school she went. She was able to follow the sound of someone's voice to listen to them, as well as pick up noises that other people couldn't.

Now, though, Hope was nervous as she walked hand in hand with Harry down to Severus' quarters. She knew she was more adept at finding her way around, but she wouldn't stand a chance at curses. Hope sighed deeply, and felt Harry squeeze her hand in support.

Hope hesitantly opened the door and felt a curse slam into her.

"Bloody hell!" Harry yelled as he looked up into the potion master's eyes. "What are you thinking?"

"I am thinking, Mr. Potter, that she will be on her guard eventually, even if she learns the hard way. She is blind, not an invalid. She will learn to fight and dodge, and do everything else as well as she could with her sight."

Hope stood, although she kept her hand on her stomach, which was throbbing from the pain.

"I thought you were going to teach me how to fight, not expect me to know," she said through clenched teeth.

"I am going to. But you must always be on your guard, Hope. You will need to walk into a room and immediately know who is in the room, at least the number of people, as well as if anything is coming towards you."

Hope growled slightly, causing Harry to back away from her. "Let me guess, someone else is in here with us?"

Harry looked up in surprise. He looked at the couch and saw the headmaster standing there with an odd look on his face.

"Of course there is, like I could teach you this myself. The headmaster has agreed to join me. As well as your brother, and Hermione, once you get more adjusted to dodging and returning curses."

Hope glared at the direction of her father. "I hate to tell you, but I can't even tell when a curse is coming at me, so maybe you should explain how to do that first?"

Severus rolled his eyes. Harry went to stand over by the headmaster, expecting curses to start flying at any moment.

"You have to get over this self-pity thing. You _can_ sense them, you just won't open up your senses and do it. Listen carefully to each spell; they all make a unique sound. Learn them, or get hit."

Hope took a few steps toward her father. "You can't be serious. You're going to curse me while I'm blind? Without even explaining how to do it?"

Severus sighed audibly. "I just did, you ignored me. Now we start."

Hope felt the atmosphere around her change and was thrown off guard by the change in her surroundings. To the other three occupants, they knew Severus just magically transformed his quarters into a practice room.

"This isn't fair; I don't have a clue where I am or what's in my way," Hope argued, her voice still firm despite the obvious fear.

"You won't know if you're in Voldemort's hiding place, either. Are you ready?" Severus asked, raising his wand.

Hope grabbed her own wand out of her pocket. "Of course not! I don't know what I'm doing."

"Block me, Hope."

That was all the warning Hope got before she felt another curse hit her and was thrown into a wall. She winced, but refused to make any sound. Unknown by the occupants in the room, she was retreating back to her days with Voldemort. She would not let them hear her scream. Nor would she let them see her cry. She weakly got to her feet and took a few steps in the direction the spell had hit her from, only to be hit with another one in the side.

"Severus, enough," a voice came from the other side of the room.

"She has to learn, Albus," her father's harsh voice came from somewhere to her left.

"Learn what? I don't believe cursing her so harshly is teaching her anything."

Severus' anger was obvious, even to Hope, who couldn't see his expression. "She is my daughter, and I will train her how I see fit."

Hope wished the headmaster would continue to argue with him, if only to grant her a few more moments to fight off the pain threatening to crush her. However, it appeared the headmaster decided to back off and allow her father to continue cursing her.

Hope endured curse after curse, until one actually sent her crashing hard into the wall and she didn't stand. Hope put her head into her hands and let a few silent tears fall. Even Voldemort hadn't been able to push her into this much pain except when he killed her parents. She had always had the thought that Severus or Harry would save her.

Now, with Harry watching her father throw curse after curse at her, she broke. She just cried, knowing nobody could save her from her father's 'training'.

"Get up," her father's voice commanded from across the room. Hope wiped her tears hurriedly and tried to stand before falling back down.

"Hope Leanne, get up now. You will learn how to do this."

"Severus, that is enough!" The headmaster's voice roared. "She is your daughter, not someone for you to use as a cursing post. Look at her!"

Severus shifted his gaze to his daughter and wanted to cry himself. He'd gotten so caught up in getting her focused on blocking him that he didn't pay attention to the damage he was inflicting on his daughter. She was kneeling on the ground with her head in her hands and her shoulders shaking uncontrollably with sobs.

He went to her side and knelt down in front of her, ignoring a glare from Harry. He gently touched her head only to have her jerk away with him with a startled yelp.

"Lea…" He started but was cut off by her standing up.

"Don't. Don't call me that. You're worse than Voldemort!" She screamed at him.

Severus saw that she meant that by the look of hatred etched on her face. "You did more damage to me than he ever could have. I _trusted_ you, Severus. But all you care about is making me into a warrior!"

Severus went to touch her again, not even bothering to stop the tears flowing unchecked down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Lea. I should have stopped earlier."

"Earlier? You mean after the first ten curses? Look at me, Snape! I may not be able to see, but I sure as hell can feel the pain. And guess what! It's everywhere!"

Hope backed away from him and was cornered into a wall. "Please, don't touch me. Let me go, please don't hurt me."

Severus jerked back in shock. He looked at the headmaster, who sighed and went to the distraught girl.

"Hope, why don't you come with me to my quarters for tonight? We'll get you healed up and ready to go back to classes soon."

Hope walked in the direction of the headmaster. Dumbledore walked towards her and wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl.

"Why didn't Harry help me? He did last time," Hope sobbed into the older wizard's robes. "He said he loves me, but he didn't help me. Not this time. Why?"

Dumbledore shook his head to motion Harry to stay quiet. "Come on, Hope."

Severus' room returned to their original state and Dumbledore led Hope to the door. He noticed the girl was unable to support herself and carefully lifted her into his arms before continuing on his way. Hope cried herself to sleep before they were even halfway to the headmaster's office.

_--_

Hope awoke to three people talking in hushed voices. She went to stand and bit her lip to stop herself from making noise due to the pain. She used her hands to guide her way over to the door and listened to the conversation.

"I brought some things she might need, Albus. There's some clothes, as well as her journal." Hope immediately recognized Snape's voice.

"Thank you, Severus."

The professor must have nodded because the next thing Hope heard was unmistakeably Harry's sad voice.

"Is she doing better than she was?"

"She's been asleep since we left Professor Snape's quarters. I used some spells to heal her wounds, although the ones that require potions will, as usual, be required to heal on their own."

"Can I go see her?" Hope heard the pleading in Snape's voice and was shocked.

Hope didn't wait to hear a reply, she went back to the bed she was on and sat down, using the headboard to lean against. She wished that she was able to see herself.

She heard the door open and jerked her head up in response. "Hello?"

"Hope, you're awake. I was beginning to think you'd sleep away the week." The headmaster's voice was calm.

"Sir?" Hope let a little fear slip into her voice. "Is someone with you?"

Hope heard a sigh and immediately tried to scoot back.

"Yes, Hope. Your father and Harry stopped by."

Hope's eyes filled with tears again. "He's not my father. A father doesn't do that to his daughter."

"Lea, please, listen to me."

"Don't call me that!" She yelled at him. "You don't deserve to call me that!"

Hope closed her eyes and fought the tears. "I want the adoption cancelled."

"Hope, you can't mean that!" Severus cried out.

Hope turned her head away from the direction they were in. "I do mean that. I can't trust you anymore, Snape."

"Even so, I don't believe that to be a wise decision at the moment. Your emotions are running high, and I think with time, this matter will work itself out." The headmaster interrupted.

Hope sighed but nodded jerkily. "Did you say Harry was here?" She asked, switching subjects.

"I'm here, Hope." She recognized the voice and turned toward it. She carefully stood again, and heard someone rushing towards her.

"Harry, why didn't you help me?" She asked pleadingly, as his strong arms wrapped around her.

"I couldn't, Hope. There was nothing I could have done." Hope could feel him shaking.

"Are you crying?" She asked quietly, not moving her head from where it was resting against his chest.

"I thought you would be furious with me. I thought you'd break up with me. I couldn't bear for that to happen again."

Hope shook her head against her robes. "Not your fault. Harry, I'm scared."

Harry tightened his arms around him. He looked up and noticed that the headmaster and professor left to give them some privacy. He pulled her onto the bed, sitting her comfortably on his lap.

"Why are you scared, Hope?"

"Severus hurt me," she whispered quietly. Harry closed his eyes.

"He didn't mean to."

"How can you defend him?" She asked brokenly. "He got my trust, then did exactly what Voldemort did. It hurt so badly. He kept cursing me over and over."

Harry didn't bother to wipe the tears falling from his eyes. He didn't want to move his arms from around Hope. "I know, Hope. I know. But he wasn't himself. He was just so focused on getting you to block him that he didn't realize."

"But I'm his daughter. He shouldn't have been so worried about that. I'm not a tool in the war."

"I know." He kissed the top of her head.

"Do you think he'll cancel the adoption?" Hope asked after awhile of silence.

"Not a chance. Your stuck with him and Draco."

Hope nestled her head into Harry's chest. "I'm not sure how I feel about that. I'm glad, because I _do_ love him, even after what he did. But how do I know he wasn't _trying_ to hurt me?"

Harry pulled a blanket over them to try to calm her shivering. "You just have to believe that he loves you back."

Hope nodded. "I guess I have to talk to him, don't I?"

Harry smiled. "Guess you do."

"Can I do it later? I'm kind of tired."

"You can do it later. Go to sleep," he said softly.

He moved to put her down but her hands wrapped themselves in his robes.

"Please, stay?" Hope's voice was scared but she didn't care. She didn't want to be alone.

"Wouldn't think of being anywhere else," Harry said, as he returned to their previous position.

After several minutes, both teens drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

--

A/N: Here ya go,Thanks to Nita,  
Kayla


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Planning a Trip

Disclaimer: I don't own anything...:(

--

Chapter Thirteen: Planning a Trip

Hope woke up, and the first thing she noticed was that she was laying against something incredibly comfortable. Rather than get up, she snuggled against the object. She didn't expect for a pair of arms to encircle her tightly.

"Who is it?" She asked, trying to get out of the person's arms.

"It's just me," Harry's soft voice whispered from above her.

"Oh." She turned slightly and buried her head against his chest. "Sorry."

Hope heard him laugh softly.

"Don't worry about it. Why don't you get dressed while I go find your brother and Hermione?"

"Okay," she said quietly. She waited until she heard the door shut quietly before slowly moving out of bed. She felt her way around the room, and found no room that would constitute as the bathroom. She sighed before walking out of the room and toward the direction she heard voices. She kept walking and instantly recognized Dumbledore and Snape's voices.

"Harry said she was up to seeing her friends, Severus. Maybe now would be the opportune time to speak with her."

"Headmaster?" Hope called, not wanting to speak to her father yet.

"Yes, Hope?" He called from a little to her left. Hope turned toward that direction.

"Is there a bathroom somewhere around here? I'd like to be ready when Harry comes back with my brother and friend."

Dumbledore sighed. "There is, but will you speak to your father first?"

Hope sighed. "I guess, but can I do it after I take a shower?"

Hope didn't hear anything. "I can't hear if you nod or shake your head, sir."

"Of course, child. The bathroom will be the third room on your right, two doors past the room you used."

Hope nodded her thanks and turned that direction. Her movements were still careful due to the pain she was in. She couldn't see it, but her father's face was twisted into an expression of guilt.

Hope reached the bathroom and slowly turned the water as hot as it would go. She stepped it and sighed with relief as the dirty feeling she had washed away. Healing spells always left her with a horrible feeling. She showered and changed as quickly as her sore body would allow, before heading back toward the room where the headmaster and Snape were.

"You still in here?" She asked as she felt around for a couch or chair to sit in to relieve her tired muscles.

Hope felt someone gently direct her into a chair and shrugged them off.

"If I don't find it on my own, I won't know how to reverse my steps."

She heard them sigh. "Very well," her father muttered.

Hope turned toward him. "Sorry, sir."

She found a seat and collapsed into it, curling up as much as she could.

"Could you tell me what I'm wearing?" She asked politely. "I'm sure since you picked it out, it matches, but I would still like to know. But if you don't want to explain…"

"Don't feel bad about asking me a simple question. I went for comfortable clothes rather than stylish. I chose a simple pair of black pants and a light pink cami Is that acceptable?"

Hope looked down. "Yes, sir."

Hope heard him sigh and shift in his seat. She guessed he was directly across from her.

"You don't need to apologize. I do, however. How I treated you yesterday was inexcusable, and I owe you an explanation, but, however, I can not give you one."

Hope became angry. "That's always the case. Harry told me all about how nobody told him anything until his godfather died. Is it going to be the same with me? Am I going to have to watch yet another person die before you will tell me what I did to make you so angry you were throwing me through walls!?"

Snape grabbed her hands in his but she yanked them away.

"I don't get it. Why am I never good enough for you? I've never been blind before, yet you expect me to get it right away. So I wasn't good enough, and you decided to throw me against walls as punishment? Is that it?"

"No, Hope."

Hope heard the door open a second before her friend's voices carried to her.

"I am beginning to like what I said yesterday more and more. Cancel the adoption."

"Hope, can you honestly say you don't want me to be your father anymore? Because I still love you. I just can't tell you Order information."

"Oh, so is there some threat out that old Tom Riddle is going to blind me before he kills me?"

If Hope could have seen her father's face, she would have known it was true. "Because that's pretty lame, even for him."

Severus sighed. "I believe your friends are listening. Go ahead and go."

Hope shook her head. "I want to speak to the headmaster first."

"I'm right here, Hope."

"Sir, can I have permission to go to my manor while I heal? Harry, Hermione, and Draco would come with me, and they could help train me in my loss of sight. I would still do the assignments, but they could be sent to me."

The headmaster didn't reply immediately. "It's up to your father. Harry, Hermione, and Draco are all of age, but you are not until January."

"I have no problem with it as long as the children do not object to an adult stopping by at any time."

Hope nodded her agreement. "We can leave right after the Halloween feast. That would give everyone enough time to decide what they want to do. How long are we permitted to stay there?"

"In three weeks, you will have to be examined by a mediwitch if you wish to prolong your return, and the others will have to return."

Hope nodded. "Three weeks. We can do that. So we leave the first of November, and return the twenty-first. That works."

"Hope, are you ready?" Harry called from the main office.

"Yeah, but can you guys come up here a minute?"

She heard footsteps coming down the hall and turned to greet them. She walked over to her brother, who she recognized by the soft steps, and gave him a hug.

"You okay?" He whispered quietly.

She nodded against him. She pulled away and addressed the group as a whole. "Do you guys want to get away for a couple weeks? I need some help in my training, and I'm not exactly healed enough to go to classes. I think it could be good for us. We'd be at my manor, so it'd be perfectly safe."

Hermione sighed. "Hope, I would love to but I can't. I agreed to do a research project with Professor Arasia. Ginny and I are going to be helping her out every night."

Hope nodded, slightly disappointed, but understanding, nevertheless. "What about you, guys?"

"A chance to miss school? Of course I'll go!" Harry exclaimed. "How long?"

"Three weeks. Draco?"

"I'll go." He sounded reluctant, but Hope pushed it away to talk with him about later.

"We leave the first of November. So be prepared. We will still be doing our classwork though, just be getting the assignments and notes from someone. Hermione, can you take care of that?"

"Of course! I'll take extremely detailed notes and send them to you every night."

Hope shook her head, but allowed a smile to fall onto her face. "Great, we're taking a trip then."

_--_

_A/N: Hey Everyone! Sorry it's been so long. I started school and inconviently left all my chapters at home!! Oh no!   
Then my wonderful beta's been having some computer issues, so I had to resend her all the chapters, yet I don't have them with me.  
So we ARE working on it I promise.  
If you want them sooner, you'll let me know what you thought of this one, and I might feel inclined to rush a bit._

_Kayla :P_


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Switching Sides

Disclaimer: Sadly enough, none of these characters, with the exception of Hope and Sasha, belong to me. I just bend them and twist them to fill my desires!

--

Chapter Fourteen: Switching Sides

The week until the group left went by quietly. Hope was unable to attend classes, but she was beginning to heal slowly. She was still sore, and could not walk long distances without support, but she was getting there.

She avoided Severus as much as she could. He came by twice, both times when she was with Draco in the Slytherin common room. She calmly told him that she didn't wish to speak with him, and continued her conversation with Draco.

Now, it was a day before the group was leaving, and Hope went down to her father's quarters a little reluctantly. She had some stuff down there that she wanted to take with her. She whispered the password and quietly slipped inside.

Surprisingly, she immediately heard something smash against a wall. She winced, expecting to be hit. When nothing else flew at her, Hope made her way toward her father's office, where she now could hear two voices.

"Dad, you're going to kill someone if you don't get your temper under control!"

"My attitude is not your concern, Draco. It also is not your problem, considering you are leaving tomorrow."

"Maybe you should leave, too. Go to Snape Manor for a couple weeks. You need the break, Severus. If Hope were to see you in this condition, the situation you are in with her will become impossible to fix."

Hope heard something move.

"Maybe you're right, Draco." Severus said in a dejected voice. "Would you consider coming with me?"

"I'm supposed to go with Hope, otherwise I would."

Hope pushed open the door. "You can go with him, Draco. It's not a problem."

Hope heard something fall to the floor and flinched.

"Eavesdropping isn't polite," he said with laughter in his voice.

Hope smiled in his direction. "I learned from you. Seriously, you don't have to come with me. It didn't seem like you wanted to anyway."

"Come talk with me in your room, Hope. I'm assuming you're picking something up otherwise you wouldn't be here."

Hope let Draco lead her to her bedroom. She searched around the room for everything she needed. She managed to successfully find Sasha's cage, her wand holster, and her parchment and quill set, but she couldn't find her duffel bag that she was going to take with her.

"Draco, have you seen my duffel bag?" She asked her brother as she felt around her closet for it.

"Which one?" He asked as he got up off her bed to help her search.

"The blue one, with sparkles on it. It has my name stitched on the front in white."

"Last time I saw it, you were taking it up to the Gryffindor common room."

"Ugh, it wasn't up there. I brought it back down here the next weekend."

Hope threw something out of her closet and heard it hit someone behind her. "Sorry, Draco," she called as she continued shifting things around.

"What in the world are you two doing?" Hope heard Snape's voice from the door.

"I can't find my duffel. I know it's here somewhere."

"Which one?" He asked.

"The blue one, sparkles, shoe pocket on side, white letters for my name, shoulder strap. I took it with us when we went to talk to the Macklad Malaclaws."

"It's in the sitting room. I put it in the corner so you wouldn't trip over it. Hang on a moment and I will get it."

Hope heard him leave the room and pulled out her wand. With a spell everything was back where it belonged. She heard her father enter and he handed her the bag. She summoned some clothes to her and used her wand to pack them neatly into the duffel. She took out a bag from her pocket, unshrunk it, and shifted the contents from their current bag into her favorite duffel.

Done with all that, she zipped her bag shut and put the strap over her shoulder.

"I'm going to go talk to the headmaster and see if he will allow me to keep Sasha in the dormitory overnight. If not, I guess I'll just have to go down to Hagrid's and get her in the morning."

"She can stay in here," Severus said. "Assuming you would stay in here tonight."

Hope closed her eyes and shook her head. "No thanks. I don't think that would be a wise idea, since I am trying to get you to repudiate the adoption."

Hope heard him sigh and take a step toward her. "It is your choice. But you should know you are still welcome here."

Hope sighed. "Sasha could stay down here, and not in her cage, free to roam around?"

"Yes."

"And Draco, will you stay down here, too?"

"I have no choice, since I do still have to talk to you while you're not throwing things around your room."

Hope hesitated. "I am able to leave at any time, right?"

Severus sighed. "You are."

"I guess I can stay. I really do want to spend time with Sasha."

"Excellent. For now, though, I have a meeting. I will be back after dinner."

Hope nodded. She heard him leave and turned toward where she thought Draco was standing.

"Want to come with me to fetch Sasha? We can bring her back and then go to dinner. Harry will be here anytime to go with us."

"Are you sure that you are able to go that far? I thought you were only supposed to go short distances."

Hope smiled. "Harry will be with me. I'll lean against him if I get tired. Of course, if you'd rather wait until I get back to talk, that's perfectly fine."

"I think I'll wait. I'm going to pack." He heard a knock at the door. "There's Harry, have fun."

Hope smiled and made her way over to the door. She opened the door and heard Draco make some weird noise. "Draco? It's only Harry."

"I'm not Potter, nor will I ever be." A cruel voice came from in front of her. "Draco, may I have a word?"

"What do you want, Greengrass? And are you too much of a coward to come down without Bullstrode with you?"

Hope stepped in between the door and her brother. She knew that Snape's wards wouldn't let the girls in unless they had been invited, but she didn't want them hurling curses at her brother.

"Draco, can we come in, please?"

"Tell me why you're here first."

"Are we having a party?" Hope recognized Harry's voice.

"Harry! Come on in."

Harry pushed past the two girls and pulled Hope into a hug.

"Draco, look, we're outnumbered. Yet we still want to come in. We'll even give you our wands."

"And allow me to perform a spell insuring you don't have any others on you?"

"Yes. anything," Bullstrode spoke up.

"Harry and my sister are staying for this conversation."

"Fair enough."

Draco sighed. "Then come on in and have a seat after throwing your wands in."

Hope heard two wands hit the ground. She took her wand out, but already heard Draco performing the spell to insure they had no other wand or weapon on them.

Harry led her over to a chair and pulled her onto his lap. Hope noticed the display of unity and grabbed Draco as he went to sit down. Getting the point, he perched himself casually on the arm of the chair.

"Why are you here?" He asked them yet again.

"Are there silencing wards in place, so nobody can eavesdrop?"

Hope nodded and felt Harry do the same.

"My dad took me to a death eater meeting last night. When I got there, I noticed Millicent there. We are best friends after all, so we should be able to recognize each other." She paused and took a deep breath. "It was horrible. We were taught that muggleborns and halfbloods were filth, but we never had inside information on how they were treated."

"You have to understand, Draco. We just wanted them gone from the school. Maybe a few of them killed. But last night, they had muggles; people who don't even have anything to do with our world. They tortured them, and raped them. It was so horrible."

The girl started sobbing, so Bullstrode took over. "We were forced to watch the entire thing. Then, as the death eaters were called forward, each one of them bowed and kissed the Dark Lord's feet. We were promised power, and strength; instead, what we saw was our father's acting as cowards. People we had admired, who didn't even have the courage to tell the man no."

Draco stared the girl in the eye. "So why are you here?"

Greengrass looked up at him. "We want to fight. What he is doing is wrong. Torturing anybody, like he was doing, is just wrong; especially when it's somebody who did nothing to you, who has nothing to do with you."

Harry looked at the girls. "Do you expect us to believe that you knew nothing about what Voldemort was doing?"

The two girls sighed. "Pureblood witches are not usually accepted into the Dark Lord's ranks. With the war going on, he is low on followers, making him desperate enough to accept even us. Females in the pure blood society are raised to do exactly what their husbands say. We are arranged to marry another pure blood, and do not have any information about what he is doing when he is not home."

"It's true, Harry. Females do not have a clue what goes on at meetings. My mother is the perfect example. Why should I believe you?"

"I am willing to take veritaserum to prove that I am telling the truth. We both are. We will do anything to prove that we are loyal to Dumbledore and Potter."

"Begin by calling him by his first name. Last names are reserved for enemies, Millicent."

The girl nodded. Draco got up and threw some floo powder in the fireplace.

"Dad, I know you are in a meeting, but there is something important going on in your quarters."

Draco pulled back and Snape walked through. He saw the two Slytherins sitting in his sitting room and glared at them immediately.

"Let me assure you, that whatever harm you have caused my children or their friends will be more than requited."

"It's not like that, Dad," Draco said. "They claim to want to switch sides. I believe you have a new veritaserum that is strong enough to overcome the antidote? Since they are both seventeen, and have said they will take it, then I want to see if they are serious."

"Very well, let me go get the improved formula."

He came back a moment later and motioned for the girls to stick their tongues out. He carefully measured out five drops on each girl's tongue.

They verified the statements from earlier and then discussed the way to handle it. Since they missed dinner, after sending the girls to the headmaster's office, Severus ordered food while Hope went with Harry to get Sasha.

Hope reached Hagrid's hut with no incident. She went inside and got Sasha. She played with the white tiger for awhile before standing. She winced and reached out to a table to stabilize herself.

Harry rushed over from where he was chatting with the half-giant. "Hope?"

"I'm okay. Just a little sore. Long walk."

"I told you it was too early to do this. Come on; let's go back to your dad's."

Hope let Harry take her weight as she snapped for Sasha to follow. She almost tripped twice on the way back to the castle. Finally, they made it to the dungeons, where Hope collapsed in a couch, exhausted.

"Told you it was too far," Draco boasted, sitting across from her.

"Shush." She sat up and took a tray of food from Harry. She picked at it while listening to the idle chatter going on around her.

"You need to eat," Harry whispered in her ear.

"If I eat, I'll throw up, and that'd be a tad embarrassing. I'm not feeling great."

Harry got up and disappeared into her room. Hope banished her tray. Harry came back in, handed her two pills and she took them, finishing the last of her pumpkin juice. She took the pillow he offered her and curled up on the couch. Sasha growled lightly, so she patted the couch and let the animal curl up beside her.

Hope tried staying focused. She tried following the conversations around her. But in a couple minutes, she fell asleep while listening to Harry and Draco discuss which team was going to win the next quidditch cup.

--

A/N: Here you go. Is anybody still reading this? I'm beginning to wonder.

Kayla :P


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Talk and Home

Disclaimer: I don't own this or make any profit from it. The characters only do what I ask them to, for the short time I get to play with them.

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Chapter Fifteen: Talk and Home

Hope felt someone softly shaking her and whispering her name.

"G'way," she muttered to the person.

"Hope, come on," the voice persisted. "Wake up, just for a little bit."

Hope wearily rubbed her eyes. "Dray?"

"Don't call me that, but yes, it's me."

"What time is it?" She asked, sitting up.

"Shortly after midnight. Look, I have to talk to you before you leave, and I don't want Harry or Dad eavesdropping."

Hope closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the couch. "Then cast some silencing charms and start talking, or I'm going back to sleep."

Draco nodded and cast a few quick silencing charms.

"I don't want you to feel like I'm choosing Dad over you, Hope."

"I don't, Draco. I get that you want to spend time with him. You see me in classes and all that. It's no big deal."

Hope had a feeling he was shaking his head.

"It's not like that," he insisted. "Look, I know you think you know what is going on, and why Dad pushed you so hard, but you don't have a clue. He has reasons behind acting so harshly, but he doesn't want to explain it to you."

Hope sighed. "Of course, I'm being left out of the loop for something pertaining to me. However, I will cope. That's why I can't trust him anymore, Draco. His best interests are for himself, not for us."

Hope heard him sigh as he sat next to her on the couch.

"I will tell you part of it if you promise not to tell him, or anyone else, that I did."

Hope wished she could see his face. "What is it, Draco?"

"There is a spy in Hogwarts; someone who is somehow getting inside information about you. We don't know how, yet. We also don't know who it is. We do know it is a girl, and we have a small suspicion that she is in Gryffindor, and we know she is at least a fifth year, more than likely older."

Hope made a face. "We've known that for awhile. Maybe not the house part, but the spy, girl, age thing."

"That's not all, Hope. Seamus overheard the Dark Lord speaking to her. She is to blind you and bring you to him the night before winter vacation."

Hope gasped. "So that's where this sudden idea came from? He wanted me to be ready for her? As well as the extra protection of having someone with me at all times?"

"Yes. She claims to have made several unsuccessful attempts to kidnap you. Voldemort is becoming extremely unhappy with her."

Hope rubbed her eyes. "It still doesn't excuse what he did. He weakened me, therefore making her job easier. I wouldn't be able to fight her off right now, Draco."

"I know, and that's only a small portion of what's going on. There's more, but I can't tell you because it has nothing to do with you."

Hope nodded. "So why do you feel like you have to explain this all to me?"

"Because you seemed to think that I didn't want to go away with you and Harry. It's not that at all, it's just that…there is some stuff going on with Dad that I'm worried about. He's extremely upset over you and him not being on good terms, on top of what he was dealing with already. I didn't want to leave him alone."

"So go with him. I'm not going to be upset with you, Draco. Just promise me that you will come by and visit at least twice a week."

Draco smiled. "I promise. Go back to sleep, sis. I'll wake you in the morning when it's time to go to the headmaster's office. He's going to connect the floo to your house, but he needs a drop of your blood to do it."

Hope went to stand and go into her room, but heard Draco stifle a laugh.

"What?"

"Harry's currently asleep in there. I don't think it would make things any easier on Dad to wake up and see you two sharing a bed."

Hope shrugged. "He's seen it before. Besides, I'm going to bed, and the couch is just downright uncomfortable."

Hope turned and entered her room. She carefully climbed into the bed beside Harry and fell into a blissful sleep.

* * *

Hope stepped out of the fireplace and into the wonderful parlor of Collins Manor. She went over to the couch and sat down, waiting for Harry to follow through. She had missed her house, even if she didn't realize it.

Hope heard Sasha moving around inside her cage, anxious to get out. She walked over and knelt down with a hiss of pain, opened Sasha's cage and let the tiger wander around and observe her new surroundings. Her pet let out a purr of approval, causing Hope to laugh.

She heard the floo flare to life and turned around before hearing someone fall ungracefully on the floor. She laughed, causing him to look up at her with a glare.

"Welcome to my home, Harry. Although, it doesn't seem to treat you as nicely as it does me."

Harry shook his head and smiled. He grabbed his bag as well as hers before taking her hand to pull her upstairs. Harry led her to her room after getting directions. He directed her around the room once, then left to go unpack his own bags as she did the same.

After unpacking their bags, they went upstairs to the third floor. Hope listened to Harry as he chased his snitch around the quidditch pitch, laughing many times as the little ball managed to spin away from him just as he was about to catch it, sending him into a chain of curse words. They then went up to the animal room that had been Hope's mother's favorite place, and found Sasha in there playing with some of the toys.

Hope walked into the room and ran into something. "I don't remember it being like this!"

Suddenly an elf popped into the room. "What is Mistress wanting for dinner?"

Hope smiled at the elf. "Whatever you guys want to fix is fine. When did you add all these toys to the room?"

The house elf looked at her. "We is not adding no toys. This room magically adds toys to fit all mistresses' pet's needs. It was mistress' mother's idea."

Hope smiled. "Thanks. Let us know when dinner is ready."

The elf disappeared with a pop. Harry and Hope played with Sasha for awhile, up until the elf announced it was time for dinner. They asked the elf to take the meal to the balcony, and enjoyed the meal over laughter.

Finally, after dinner and sitting on the balcony with Harry during the sunset, Hope gladly returned to her room. She collapsed on the huge bed, leaving a small smile on her face.

"I'm exhausted."

Harry laughed at her. "That would be because you are supposed to take a nap every day and you neglected to do so today."

Hope pouted. "I was having so much fun. Are you going to let me sleep in tomorrow instead of starting our training schedule on time?"

Harry laughed and pulled a strand of her hair gently. "Take your painkillers and go to bed. You can sleep until eleven. Fair enough?"

Hope smiled at him. "Definitely."

"Good night, Hope."

"Night, Harry."

Hope heard the door closed. She took her painkillers and lay down in the bed. She drifted off to sleep thinking about how nice it was to be home.

--

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it's taken so long to post. Midterm week, stressful, crazy roommates, and a million other problems going on. But here it is, and as soon as my beta gets me sixteen, I'll post it. Hopefully it'll be sometime today so I don't have to do it after break.

Kayla


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Tests of Training

Disclaimer: I don't own it, nor will I ever.

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Chapter Sixteen: Tests of Training

The three weeks Hope was with Harry flew by faster than either imagined. They had a set schedule that they followed. Each morning they awoke and were downstairs at eight o'clock. It began with Harry shooting a curse in the space beside her, introducing her to the sounds of each curse. After a few days, the headmaster came in and helped so she could get used to hearing more than one curse at the same time.

They progressed from that to actually blocking spells and dueling. Hope became very adapt at knowing which blocks would work against certain sounds emitted by the spells. The headmaster had arranged for Hermione, Alexia, and Draco to come by on each Saturday and duel with her.

After they got done with that around noon each day, they would eat a relaxed lunch. Then Harry would attempt to train Hope on her flying techniques without her sight. She never once fell, but she couldn't catch the snitch as quickly as Harry could.

After playing quidditch, they would have dinner and make their way onto the balcony again.

Now, Hope was extremely confidant that she would be able to best her father in a duel. She was going to find out, because her father was due to arrive in a couple minutes. She finished putting her clothes in her bag, and sat down on her bed, reluctant to face Snape again after three weeks.

Would he want to un-adopt her? She had come to realize that if she wasn't his daughter, she also wouldn't be Draco's sister, and that was a relationship she treasured.

Hope heard someone enter her room and expected Harry. Instead, she got the soft footsteps she recognized as the headmaster's.

"Headmaster," she said quietly as he entered the room.

"Hope, why don't you join us downstairs to welcome your father?"

Hope shook her head. "I'll be down in a moment. Is everyone staying here tonight as planned?"

"Yes. I will return to the school around dinnertime, as is required of me. Are you okay with your father staying here all night?"

Hope sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "It depends on how he acts. Worse case scenario, I lock myself in my room. This house is mine, so if I tell it not to let someone into my room, he won't be able to get it at all."

The headmaster reached over and pulled her into an unexpected hug. Hope stiffened for a moment before returning the hug to the older wizard.

"Promise me something, Hope."

"What?"

"That you will not assume anything about your father. He's different. I was over there yesterday. My first impression was one of a lost puppy."

Hope laughed. "I don't think Professor Snape would appreciate being called a puppy."

The headmaster laughed. "Probably not. Just promise me you won't assume any more than you already have."

Hope nodded. She heard him leave the room and finished throwing her clothes in her bag. She left out a set of clothes for tonight and tomorrow, before finally going downstairs.

She walked down the stairs with ease. If the people in the room didn't know she was blind, they wouldn't have guessed by her entrance.

"Hello, Draco, Professor Snape. I see you brought visitors. Let me guess, Alexia, right? And Hermione! Hmm, who else is there…Blaise?" She ventured a guess.

"How do you know who everyone is? Did the headmaster tell you? It was supposed to be a surprise."

Hope laughed and walked over giving Blaise, Hermione, Draco and Alexia a hug. "I told you, I've been training hard."

She could feel the shock radiating off Draco as she hugged Alexia, or Lexi, as she'd begun calling her. "We've spent a lot of time together recently. The headmaster thought she'd be a good person to help train me."

"So you two are friends now?"

Hope nodded.

"Awesome, so what are we going to do today?"

"Well, I am going to battle Professor Snape, to prove that I can duel while blind. Then, if I succeed against him, I will face the rest of you."

"All of us? Together?" Blaise sounded suspicious.

Hope smiled. "Of course. I have been training hard, and I'm more than ready to do this."

"Awesome. Let's move up to the dueling platform then."

Hope shook her head. "No, let's continue into the dining room for food. I had the house elves prepare a nice meal for us to enjoy."

Hope heard laughter from everyone but one person. She noticed that the potions professor was staying quiet. She shrugged it off and led the way into the dining room with a confidence that surprised everyone.

The group sat and enjoyed the meal together. Afterwards, Hope made her way upstairs to the dueling platform. She took her position on the platform and turned to face her opponent.

"Would you like to transform the room into an unknown location, or will this suffice?"

"It would be nice to know that you are still able to battle if you are unaware of your surroundings, but…"

"Then transform them and take your place."

Hope felt magic tinge the air. She took a minute to see if she could sense where she was. Unable to tell much about the area, she held her wand at the ready and bowed deeply.

She heard the rustle of clothes, telling her that the professor had done the same.

"One, Two, Three," she counted. She heard an unspoken spell and quickly dodged it, putting up a block. She waited for the next curse to hit it, broke the block, and dodged on the ground, throwing another curse in his direction.

The battle continued on for about a half hour. Finally, Hope threw him back into the wall, summoned his wand, and tied him with ropes only able to be broken by her.

She walked right over him, casting a spell to keep everyone else away and unable to hear what was said.

"Was that good enough for you, or do I have to kill you before you believe that I can duel without my sight?"

"You did an excellent job, Lea."

"Do. Not. Call. Me. That," she hissed at him. "You lost your right to call me that when you cursed me into the wall around the twentieth time."

Hope undid the spells binding him and threw his wand at him. She took down the barrier and snapped at everyone. "Get in position. We're starting this now."

"Hope, you need to take a break, first."

"No. Death eaters won't give me a respite. We are doing this now. I will finally prove to some people in here that nothing they do will make me powerless."

Hope knew since the others were portraying death eaters, that there would be no bowing. Hope counted off and set up her strongest shield. It successfully blocked all the curses.

She closed her eyes and focused. She did a complicated motion with her wand and produced a shield identical to the one that she had conjured in the hospital wing and the defense classroom. She focused and sensed where each of the opponents were standing, a strategy forming in her mind.

Out of everyone, Harry posed the greatest threat. He had practiced with her every day and was aware of her dueling style. She focused on him and studied his movements for a second. She instantly broke the shield and rolled across the floor behind a barrel of some kind. She threw out a spell, followed by two more. Harry was out of the battle.

The rest continued the same way. She took out Hermione, Alexia, Blaise, Snape, Draco, and last the Headmaster. By the end, Hope was panting and extremely sore. She had healed quite nicely in the past three weeks, but her ribs continued to provide some pain if she didn't do as the mediwitch had directed her.

Hope undid all the ropes at once and with a wave of her hand sent all the wands to their owners. She walked over to where her father was and waited till he stood.

"Can I have my sight back, sir?"

Hope felt his wand touch the side of her face and jerked away. She took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"I'm sorry about that."

He didn't say anything but the wand was at her head again. She held her breath and closed her eyes tightly. She heard him mutter a long Latin incantation and finally the wand was removed.

"You can open your eyes now, but I will need to put drops in them since they've been out of use for so long."

Hope nodded and slowly opened her eyes. The lights in the room had been dimmed down, but they still hurt her eyes after a month of blackness. She blinked a few times and then leaned her head back and motioned for him to put the drops in.

Instead of doing so, he transfigured a crate into a chair and told her to take a seat. She did so, leaning her head back again.

"Do not blink until I tell you to. The drops must completely soak into your eyes."

Hope nodded to show she understood. She felt his hands gently hold her eye open and place five drops smoothly onto her eyes. She blinked quickly when he let go and approved.

She repeated the process with the other eye, and then stood and got her first look around.

"Oh, sir, can you switch the room back to its original state, please?"

He nodded and with a wave of his wand, the dueling platform was back to its original glory.

"Thank you. Let's go back downstairs."

Hope led the way back downstairs and took a seat in the dining room, where she was informed by an elf that dinner would be served shortly. Hope leaned back and smiled slightly, despite the pain. She was happy to _see_ her family and friends interacting together again.

--

A/N: Here you guys go. Hope you liked it. I'm sorry it took so long to give this to you. I'm working on it, I promise.  
Kayla


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Time for Fun

Disclaimer: I don't own it, am not making any kind of money off of it, and no longer have blonde hair...plus I don't have any kids, own a mansion, or live outside the United States.

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Chapter Seventeen: Time For Fun

After dinner, everyone went up to the quidditch pitch. There, Draco, Harry, Blaise, and Alexia all readily grabbed a broom from the newly stocked cupboard. Draco somehow managed to persuade Hermione to join in.

"Come on, Hope! Grab a broom," Harry called as he kicked off.

"I think I'll sit this one out. I'm tired from yesterday."

"But our teams are uneven," Draco whined.

Hope laughed. "Put Harry and Blaise against you, Alexia, and Hermione. Since Hermione doesn't know how to keep a broom in the air, it will be fair."

Hermione stuck her tongue out, but had to grip her broom as it began to move. Hope laughed, happy she had proven her point. She watched as they split into the two teams, and walked over to sit in the viewing area.

She watched them play for awhile until she felt someone sit down next to her.

"It was different around the house without you there."

Hope shrugged and continued watching Harry and Draco fight over the snitch.

"Hope, do you want me to say I'm sorry again? Do I have to beg for your forgiveness?"

Hope turned and locked eyes with him. "What I want is for you to tell me exactly why you acted the way you did. Draco said there is stuff that I don't know about."

She heard him sigh.

"Draco told me he already told you about the planned attack."

Hope nodded. "But he also said that there is more to it than that. Care to tell me what?"

"I don't think now is the best time. But I will tell you."

Hope narrowed her eyes. "When, after I battle Voldemort, after Harry kills him? What use is it then?"

Hope heard him sigh again.

"I'll tell you tomorrow morning before we return to the school. Albus is opening the floo connection at eleven, so as soon as you wake up, come find me, and I'll tell you everything I know."

Hope was surprised. "Seriously?"

"Yes."

Hope nodded. "Then, in the morning, I'll decide if whatever you have going on was worth being thrown into the wall multiple times."

"It wasn't; nothing is going to excuse what I did to you, but I'm trying to explain what put me in the mind frame I was in. I hope you understand."

Hope didn't respond. She looked up in time to see Harry catch the snitch. Smiling, she walked out to the field and laughed as her boyfriend flew loops as he landed. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Hope ran toward him and engulfed him in a hug.

"You were great!" She exclaimed as she pulled away.

"I'm sure, you were really watching us closely," he said with a smirk.

"Then play again, and I'll watch."

Draco came up and shook his head. "If we play again, you are playing seeker against me."

Hope shook her head. "I can't fly right now, Draco."

"Why not?"

Hope shrugged. "I just don't want to."

"You've not played in a month, come on," he pleaded with her. "We can't have our chaser out of practice. Plus, there is a match next weekend and I was hoping you would play."

Hope sighed and summoned her broom. "Fine, but if I fall off my broom, it is your fault."

Hope saw him hesitate as she mounted her broom and kicked off. She flew up into the air and saw the lone figure left in the viewing area stand.

"What are teams, now?" She called as everyone joined her.

"Draco, Blaise, and Hermione, against you, me and Alexia," Harry replied as he smoothly slowed down his broom.

"And who plays what position?"

"Well, since you have already claimed seeker, then I guess that leaves Alexia as chaser and me as keeper."

"Or I can play keeper and you play chaser," Lexi said.

Harry shrugged. "We can do that also. Draco plays seeker, Blaise is chaser, and Hermione is their keeper."

Hope nodded. "Okay, let's get this game going."

"Why is Dad standing up?" Draco asked her as they took their positions.

"He understands why I didn't want to play."

He gave her a look. "Why is that?"

Hope shrugged. "The small pain that was left in my ribs flared after dueling with eight people. It didn't like being cursed, and since I refused to take my painkillers till later, it isn't getting any better."

"Harry, wait, don't let the balls go yet!" Draco called down to the raven haired boy. "You should have said something. You don't have to play."

Hope shook her head. "I'm up here, I'm fine, let's play and get it done."

Hope nodded to Harry, who released the balls with a flick of his wand. Hope watched the golden ball fly all over the field before disappearing from sight. She watched as Harry instantly got the quaffle and easily passed it through the hoops Hermione was guarding.

Hope flew around on her broom. Since there were no beaters, the bludgers were charmed to move around the pitch on their own. She watched as the players below dodged the bludgers while continuing on with the harsh game.

The game continued on for an hour. Hope's ribs were on fire from on the maneuvering she had to do on the broom. Finally, she caught site of the snitch on the other side of the pitch. She considered just going straight for it, but Draco was closer, and hadn't yet seen it.

Instead, she continued circling the pitch. When she was about the same distance from the snitch as Draco, she leaned forward on her broom and took off.

Draco instantly saw what she was doing and turned around to follow the little ball. The snitch flew toward the ground, and Hope and Draco were neck and neck; they both reached out to catch the ball when a bludger came their direction. Draco pushed Hope's broom in one direction while flying the other.

Instead of going in the direction, the edge of Hope's broom hit the ground, causing her to spin and land on the hard grass below her.

She looked over and saw Draco also on the ground. She laughed, then groaned and put a hand against her ribs.

Hope looked up and saw Harry's concerned face as he ran toward her.

"I caught the snitch," she muttered and she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She held the little gold ball out and saw a smile cross his face.

"I do believe you said quidditch wasn't worth getting kill for."

Hope shrugged. "I'm still alive, just sore. Let's go watch a movie."

"A what?" Draco and Blaise asked.

"A movie!" Hermione and Alexia yelled. Harry laughed while the girls tried to explain it to the boys.

He turned his attention back to his girlfriend. He watched her guarded movements. She winced as his arm went around her waist.

"You need to take the painkillers," he whispered in her ear.

She shook her head. "I'll take them later."

He sighed but nodded. He led her downstairs and over to the couch. They sat down together, Hope curled up against Harry. Hermione sat curled up against Draco in another couch, while Blaise and Alexia were each leaning against a couch. Hope looked around for Professor Snape.

"Does he not enjoy muggle things?" Hope asked her brother.

"I do," the man said as he entered the room. "I just prefer to have popcorn and drinks to do so." He floated the tray in front of him. There were three bigger bowls of popcorn and one smaller one, as well as seven drinks.

"Hey, how come Blaise and I have to share?" Alexia complained.

The man shook his head, but separated the big bowl into two smaller ones with a flick of his wand. He sat down in the chair and motioned for her to start a movie.

Hope pushed play and watched as a movie began to play. She dimmed the lights with her wandless magic.

About halfway through the movie, Hope closed her eyes. She wasn't going to go to sleep, more like she was half asleep. She was aware of the movie still playing, but just wanted to relax and fight off the pain radiating from her ribs.

Hope heard the movie end, but didn't feel like moving.

"Is she asleep?" She heard her father ask.

"No, I'm not. Just resting. Want to watch another movie?"

Harry laughed. "Sure, I'm in."

Everyone agreed except Blaise and Alexia, who had to work on a project together for Muggle Studies.

Hope shrugged and put another movie in with her magic. She stood and gathered all the popcorn bowls and cups. "I'll be right back with refills."

Hope made her way into the kitchen and took a deep breath. She walked over to the counter and took out the painkillers she was supposed to be taking every four hours. She downed them with her drink and then began fixing everyone's popcorn.

She got about halfway done when she heard someone else enter. She turned, expecting to see Harry, but instead saw Snape.

"I thought you could use some help."

Hope shrugged. "It's up to you, the drinks are ready to go out, and the popcorn will be any time. If you want to go ahead and take the drinks, I'll be right out."

He nodded and took the tray with all the drinks on them. She finished the popcorn and took the three bowls back out to the group. Everyone was engrossed in the movie, so she silently gave the bowls back and took her position.

The painkillers kicked in, and with it, the tiredness she was feeling increased. Hope fell asleep comfortably perched against her boyfriend, while listening to a story of some guy winning the affection of some girl.

--

A/N: Sorry it's been so long. School is crazy. I've had two major papers due, as well as a major project, and then the many other assignments that never quit growing. :( Oh well, it happens, right?  
Well, I will get the next chapter out as soon as my beta finishes it and I find myself with spare time. Like while everyone else is trick-or-treating and I'm sitting in my room sick. :(  
Oh, by the way, HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all those who celebrate it, and for those of you who are from Mexico (If anyone) Happy Dia de los muertos to y'all tomorrow.   
Kayla


	18. Chapter Eighteen: A Serious Talk

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I am merely borrowing them for awhile to bend them and force them to do my will. If you have anything that you wish for me to have them do, just let me know and I'll see what needs to happen.

--

Chapter Eighteen: A Serious Talk

Hope awoke early the next morning. A look at the clock showed it was  
a little after five o'clock.

Hope went upstairs to find her father. She hesitated before knocking  
on his door, knowing that if she woke him up, he'd be furious.  
Shrugging, she knocked, doing as he had asked of her, as soon as she had woken up.

She was surprised when he opened his door, fully dressed and looking wide awake.

"I didn't expect you to be awake. Actually, I expected you to  
scream at me for waking you up."

He pulled the door open wider. "I expected you. Come on in."

Hope walked in and waited for him to take a seat. He motioned for  
her to sit next to him, and she hesitated before sitting on the  
opposite side of the bed.

Hope heard him sigh. She turned so she was leaning against the  
bedpost, her eyes on his nervous form.

"I didn't want you to know, but if it's the only way you'll trust me again…"

"I still won't trust you, more than likely. You kept it from me to  
begin with, yet felt like Draco was trustworthy enough to know. Then  
you threw me continuously into a wall, even after Dumbledore told you  
to stop. Nothing you can say will cause me to trust you. You'll have  
to try to earn it back."

He turned so he was facing her.

"And that's what I'm working towards. Voldemort is being ruthless. He's making it obvious that he has returned. He's almost becoming desperate, and in his case, it means foolish. Much like Harry, when he wants something bad enough, he rushes in, without thinking, without covering his steps."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Hope asked, confused.

"Hope, he's been so foolish that the order has been able to track his  
hideout, and that has never happened in history. That means he is  
extremely desperate."

"I'm still not seeing how this is a bad thing."

"He's desperate to get his hands on you, you foolish child."

Hope's mouth dropped open. "But he hasn't done anything."

Snape shook his head. "He has done a lot. He's constantly capturing  
order members, ministry members; murdering them, after torturing them  
to find your weaknesses."

Hope shook her head. "Then we need to go after the bastard. Harry  
and I are ready. I'm positive that we can take him."

He shook his head. "You two would be slaughtered by him in a  
moment. He isn't planning, just depending on power. That's dangerous  
for someone with so much power, and so many people at his command. He  
may be giving away his location, but he is also accomplishing more  
than he ever has before."

Understanding hit Hope. "He's infiltrated Hogwarts."

"Yes. There is a spy, as we know. We know now that she is a  
Gryffindor, at least a fifth year. She spends a fair bit of time  
around you, Hope, or else, Hermione. She is feeding him information.  
We fear it will be last year all over again."

Hope shook her head. "The only people I've spent any time with are  
Hermione and Alexia. And I know without a doubt that neither of them  
are spies. It has to be someone Hermione has been talking to."

Her father nodded. "We assumed as much."

"There's more, isn't there?"

"Voldemort is also very anxious to get a hand on your brother. I've  
been keeping him within reach of me at all times. I'm trying to find  
a way to restrain him from returning to classes, but short of cursing  
him, it isn't possible."

Hope sighed. "I'll protect him."

He shook his head again. "You will be not able to return to classes  
immediately when returning to school. You're not in the physical  
shape necessary. She may permit you to attend half of your classes, but that would be all. I doubt she lets you do even that for at least another  
week."

"So then, Harry and Hermione will take care of him. Someone will stay  
with him at all times."

Severus nodded.

Hope looked at him. "This still doesn't explain the short temper.  
Even before the incident, you were cranky."

Hope watched as he moved his left arm quickly. Hope jerked off the  
bed, expecting him to pull his wand.

"I wasn't going to hurt you, Hope. Come here."

Hope took a step closer and saw what he was trying to show her. The  
Dark Mark was burning black.

"He's torturing you through it," Hope said quietly.

"Yes. Potions will work for a few days; then, I must brew another one.  
Draco and I are running out of things to try."

Hope closed her eyes. "You were in between potions on that day you  
trained me."

"Yes. As you obviously know, you can't take some ingredients until  
others are out of your system. I was in that waiting frame on the day  
I hurt you."

Hope looked up into his eyes. "Then, I forgive you."

"But you still don't trust me?" He asked, disappointed.

She shook her head. "I can't. I will leave it up to you on what you  
do about the adoption. Like I told Harry, I do love you, and I do  
consider you more of a father than I ever thought I could, but I see  
you reach for your wand, and I imagine a curse flying toward me. It's  
a hard picture to get rid of. I don't think it helps that…"

Severus reached forward and touched the girl's hand. "That what?"

Hope tried to blink away the tears. "When I first met you, you were a  
death eater. A spy, I know, but nevertheless, you were with them,  
dressed as them, working with them. I keep flashing back to then,  
thinking maybe you really are like them."

"Hope, I would never hurt you like they did."

She shook her head and took a step back. "You did worse than them. I  
trusted you, but I didn't them. I'm scared, because if you did it,  
then what's to stop Draco, or Harry, or Dumbledore…"

"They wouldn't."

"You did!" She yelled. "You were the person I trusted the most! You  
were there through everything, and they weren't. What is stopping  
them if you couldn't stop yourself?"

Snape didn't know what to say.

"I thought you loved me. You promised that you would never hurt me,  
and you did. They have never made such promises to me, so why should  
I think that they wouldn't?"

"I don't know, Hope."

Hope let out a sob and sank to the floor. Severus got off the bed and  
knelt down beside her. He knew better than to touch her.

"You're having nightmares, aren't you?"

She nodded hesitantly.

"I wish I could help you."

"I don't know what to do. I know how to stop them, but it's not  
possible. Just as it wasn't possible to stop them after Voldemort  
first found me, and after the dance last year."

"Sleeping with someone else helps."

She nodded. "But not like last time. Last time, I needed the touch  
to assure me I wasn't back in that cell, alone. It just assured me I  
was safe. This time, I'm okay if there is even someone in the room.  
As long as it is someone I trust."

"Harry would…"

"No. Harry has sacrificed so much for me already. I refuse to ask  
him to do anything else." She laughed. "It's a bit pathetic anyway,  
isn't it? Having to have someone in your room to go to sleep."

"Not at all."

Hope stood up and wiped her eyes. "I guess it'll make homework and  
such easier. Imagine, not having to sleep."

"You have to rest, or you won't heal."

Hope shrugged. "I seem to be doing fine so far. But I can catch a  
nap on the couch while Harry reads a book, or something of such  
nature."

"We'll work something out, Hope."

"You said that last year didn't you? After Voldemort had me. You  
said you'd work it out, and you never did."

"I'm sorry."

"Never mind. I'm going to convince the house elves to make breakfast.  
The headmaster is coming early, so I figured I'd at least supply  
everyone with a meal before that time."

Hope didn't wait for a reply. She flew out of the room and rushed  
down the hallway. She went into her room and hurriedly changed. As  
she walked out, she tripped, knocking off the table the glass vase  
holding the roses that Harry had shown up with after one of his  
meeting with Dumbledore

_  
"Hope?" Harry called from downstairs._

_"I'm upstairs, in my room."_

_Harry walked upstairs. "I have a surprise for you."_

_Hope turned around, and walked closer to him. "What's that? Did you  
get me something while you discussed my progress with the headmaster?"_

_Harry smiled. "I did." He took her hand and closed it carefully  
around the vase. It was a small vase, but it had a heart shape at the  
bottom. "Consider it my way of apologizing for getting frustrated  
with you."_

_"Harry, I'm not upset with you."_

_"I'm glad, but take them anyway."_

_Inside it were four roses, soft to the touch, that were spelled to  
last until the vase broke._

_"They'll never die, not as long as you keep the vase safe. Just like  
my love. It'll never die."_

_He kissed her softly._

Hope looked at the roses and started crying. They were a pure white color.

"Hope, are you okay?" She heard Harry's voice as he opened her door.  
"I heard a crash, and it sounded like…"

Harry rushed over to her. She turned and looked up at him.

"I broke the vase."

Harry shook his head. "You're sitting in glass." He grasped under  
her elbows and helped her stand. He muttered a_reparo_ at the glass  
and watched it all fly from the ground back to the table, all in one  
piece. "See, it's as good as new."

He placed the roses back in the vase before returning to the girl. He  
pulled her into an embrace. "You okay?"

"I talked to my…to Professor Snape."

He nodded in understanding. They stood for a few moments until a  
knock sounded at her door. "I thought you were going to go get  
breakfast…oh…"

"Sorry, I got a bit distracted."

Severus walked into the room and saw the roses. "They're quite beautiful."

Hope smiled. "They are. Harry got them for me. I do believe he was  
apologizing."

He smiled at her. "They were. You got mad at me because I got  
annoyed at you when you wouldn't take your painkillers and go to sleep  
like you were supposed to."

"Hmm, yes, I guess so. I didn't remember why you were frustrated, just  
that I had already forgotten it by the time you showed up with the  
roses."

He laughed. "Let's go get you food."

He took her hand and they went downstairs to eat before returning to the castle.

--

A/N: Hey Everyone!!! I actually got this one out to you on the same day my beta got it back to me! Isn't that amazing?  
Well, I'm super busy with school. Who knew so much homework could exist. Makes me miss my old school even more. But hey, nobody said college was going to be easy. And I'm only in a college prep!! AH!  
Well, the good news is I no longer have an annoying roommate to distract me! So that means things should get posted a lot quicker. Hopefully!  
Anyway, someone should leave me a message and tell me what you think since I was so good at getting this out to you. :D  
Thanks go out to my lovely beta, who is absolutely amazing at everything. I love you, Nita, you rock  
Kayla


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Return to Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

--

Chapter Nineteen: Return to Hogwarts

Everyone stepped into the headmaster's office and laughed. Hope had sat down from the immediate flare of pain in her ribs, but was joining in on the

happiness of returning to their beloved school.

They went down, everyone to their first class, except Hope, who was followed by Severus and Draco.

"Don't you have to go to class?" She asked her brother as she allowed him to catch up and walk beside her.

"Ah, since you and Harry left a day before us, I don't officially have to be back in classes until tomorrow."

"Ah, how lucky for you." she said with a smile.

Hope sat on the bed obediently and waited until the mediwitch showed up a few minutes later. She held as still as she could while a multitude of spells were cast on her. Afterwards, she sat back and looked the witch in the eyes.

"Well, you have many displaced ribs. They will take awhile to heal. The majority of your other injuries are minor bruises and cuts. I would suggest staying out of class for another week, to give your ribs time to heal. They seemed to have been interrupted in their healing process."

Hope nodded. "They were interrupted, but I don't believe that I need to discontinue my attendance in my classes. I've lived with the pain for three weeks, and during that time, I was working on training, dueling, flying, and a multitude of other things."

The mediwitch tutted at her. "That's why they aren't healed yet. You need to give them time to heal before dodging curses. I tell you, children today have no sense of self preservation."

Hope stifled a laugh. "How about half days? I'll take a nap right after lunch, and then go to quidditch practice. If my ribs are bothering me then, I won't fly, only watch. Is that agreeable?"

She shook her head and looked at Professor Snape.

"She truly is your child in all but blood."

Then she turned her attention back to Hope. "I agree to half days as long as you agree to take your medication as prescribed and take a nap every day after lunch. Also, if you are not feeling well enough to go to class, you are not to attend class."

Hope nodded. "Agreed, thanks. Later."

Hope sat up off the bed and smiled. "I'm going to get my books and go to class."

"Oh, one more thing Ms. Collins, allow someone else to carry your books for you. They make those blasted things heavy enough to break a healthy person's back."

Hope muttered a 'yes ma'am' before rushing out. She paused outside to let her brother catch up. "So, you want to carry my books? I do believe we are currently in..."

Hope looked back towards Professor Snape. "Who is teaching potions?"

"The staff each picked up one of my classes. I do believe that this class is being covered by Professor Arasia."

"Awesome, she's a cool teacher. My books are in my duffel, which is…"  
Hope trailed off. "I think I left it in the headmaster's office."

"I grabbed it."

Hope turned around again and saw that her father was, in fact, carrying her duffel bag. Hope laughed. "Sorry, but it's not your color."

He glared at her and she laughed. "Okay, here, I can take it, despite what that old coot said."

"Already disobeying the mediwitches orders, are we?" Severus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not like it's going to hurt me to carrying my own bag around."

He sighed. "If you refuse to obey one of her rules, why should I think that you are going to obey any of them?"

"I will, but this one really is quite ridiculous. Why burden other people…?"

"Is it a burden to help out your sister, Draco?" He asked with a  
smirk in his voice.

"Not at all, Dad," Draco replied with a smile as he took her bag. Hope sighed and motioned for him to lead the way.

They walked down to the dungeons. They entered the classroom and were  
greeted by a smile from the Professor.

"Welcome back, children. Take your seats. Draco, you work with Harry, and Hope, you work with Hermione. That should make things about fair. Oh, and Professor Snape, you've returned as well. Welcome back!"

The potion's master gave the jubilant professor a scowl. "I would like to retake control of my class, if that is agreeable to you?"

"Of course, Professor. They are working on…well, I'm sure you can tell what potion they are on by the directions on the board. We are a bit ahead of your lesson plans, I do hope that is okay?"

"Fine, thank you for covering my classes."

"Oh, it was such a delight, Severus. The children really are wonderful, and so attentive."

Hope snorted and was silenced by a glare. Hermione showed her where they were in their potion. Too lazy to drag her own book out of her bag, she shared Hermione's.

Soon enough, the class was over, and they were all heading to their typical spot by the lake. Hope had to hide a wince as she turned awkwardly.

"Time for your painkillers."

Hope stuck her tongue out. "I don't have to take them until lunch."

"Fine then, Harry will insure that you take them, and then he will carry your bag upstairs to the common room and lay you down for your nap."

Hope glared at her brother. "I am perfectly capable of carrying my own bag, despite what Snape and the old evil witch of the hospital wing have to say about it. Besides, this week, I'm supposed to stay in Slytherin."

"Why can't you carry your own bag?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It's too heavy to allow her ribs to heal properly. Madam Pomfrey has  
requested that Hope not carry her own books for the next week."

Hope rolled her eyes. "Yes, and we all always do what she says."

Draco shrugged. "It's not me this time."

She stuck her tongue out again. They continued to laugh before time came to go to lunch. The four teens quickly ate before Draco escorted Hope down to the Slytherin common room.

Hope changed with a flick of her wand out of the heavy robes into loose sweat pants and a t-shirt. She took a deep breath, despite the pain radiating from her ribs.

"Hurting badly?"

She nodded and wordlessly swallowed the painkillers he handed her, before lying down on the couch in the common room. "Definitely. Don't say anything to Harry, though. He'll just worry."

Draco shook his head. "You need to realize that you don't have to hide your pain from us. We're not going to think less of you because of it."

"I admitted to you I was in pain, didn't I?"

"Maybe because I was there when you were diagnosed with misplaced ribs."

She glared at him. "I'm fine. Go to class, and wake me up before dinner."

He nodded and pulled a blanket over her before leaving her to sleep, spelling the light out before exiting the room. As he closed the door to the common room, he heard her softly mutter three words that caused him to smile.

"Thank you, bro."

--

A/N: Hey everyone!! Just wanted to let you all know, that if you want to see more of Severus being a prat (sorry to use you as an example) Or more harry/hope time, or hope/snape time. Please let me know!! I want to make you all happy.

Kayla


	20. Chapter Twenty: Dark Mark Relief

Disclaimer: I don't own it:

Chapter Twenty: Dark Mark Relief

Time had flown for Hope and the gang at Hogwarts. Now, it was the middle of December, and Hope was outside dodging snowballs thrown by her brother. Her ribs had fully healed, and she attended all of her classes, groaning about the massive loads of homework they received every night.

Hope dodged another snowball and made it up to the doors that led into the school. Hope laughed as she entered the school, followed by her brother.

"That was fun," she said while trying to stop her laughter.

"It was. Have you decided what you're doing for Christmas break?" Draco asked as they made their way down to the dungeons.

"Not at all. I'm going to talk to Severus first. I don't want to intrude somewhere that I'm not really welcomed."

Her and her father were on better terms, but she wasn't ready to begin calling him dad yet.

"You know you'd be more than welcomed. You're family, Hope."

Hope smiled softly. She loved the weekends in the dungeons with her brother, spending time helping develop a new potion for his dark mark with Severus. Really, she just loved the time she spent with them.

"I know that the time I've spent down there is amazing, but I still don't understand why he didn't cancel the adoption."

Draco placed an arm around her shoulders.

"Because he loves you. Get that through your thick head."

Hope and Draco kept talking all the way down to the dungeons. Once down there, they met up with Hermione and Harry, sitting on the couch.

"Hey guys."

"Hey, Hope," Harry said, as he came up and wrapped her in a hug. He pulled back instantly and made a face that had Hope bending over in laughter.

"You're soaked!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah, snow does seem a bit wet. Doesn't it, Draco?"

"You were in a snowball fight? And you didn't invite me?"

Hope dried herself off with a wave of her hand. She had pretty well mastered wandless magic.

"I was already being creamed; I didn't need you making me even more wet."

Hope heard something crash in the lab and instantly diverted her attention to that direction.

"Dad?" Draco called out.

Hope shared a look with her brother and instantly took off towards the lab.

"Severus?" She called out as she opened the door.

"I'm fine, just knocked off the vials."

Hope fixed it wordlessly and went to his side.

"It's burning again, already?"

He nodded curtly and added another ingredient.

"But we just put the potion on it yesterday!"

"So I realize that, Hope."

"Dad, Hope wanted to talk to you."

"It can wait, though. Let's finish this potion. What else needs done to it? Go lay down on the couch over there. Draco, conjure a wet cloth and have him lay it on his mark."

Hope wished she could pull out her Christmas present to him early. She and Draco had spent hours putting together ingredients until they finally found one that would work. They mixed in a drop of her blood, and a few drops of Harry's. The idea behind it was that Harry's blood would cancel out Voldemort's magic while Hope's blood and her healing powers within it would allow the skin to heal back while the mark was being driven out.

She shared a look with Draco. They wordlessly stabilized the potion while he went into her room to grab the package.

"We're going to try something new, Severus. But we will finish this potion in case it doesn't work."

Hope saw him nod and finished adding the ingredients that he had written on the parchment. She finished the potion and put it into bottles just as Draco returned into the room.

"I brought Harry. I figured he deserved to see if it works since he did help so much with it."

Hope nodded and motioned for him to bring the potion over to her. She took the dark blue liquid out of the wrapped box.

"Severus, this is supposed to be a Christmas present, but you need it now, so you're getting it a week early. It should get rid of the dark mark forever."

He locked eyes with her.

"How?"

"We made a potion, Draco and I, and used the strongest painkilling plants we could come up with. We put in both Harry's blood and my own. Harry's blood should cancel out Voldemort's magic, and mine should knit back the skin where the Dark Mark was."

Hope knelt down beside him before she uncorked the vial and dropped the potion on his skin. The mark was vanishing, but the skin wasn't reforming fast enough.

"Hope, you have to heal the skin, it's not healing itself quick enough," Draco said quietly, his voice showing his worry.

Hope quickly placed her hand over her father's forearm and allowed her healing magic to come out and into him. She pulled away at the last minute, allowing the potion to finish its job.

Severus sat up and looked at his daughter and son in awe.

"Thank you so much."

"Does it hurt at all?" Draco asked, inspecting their work.

"No."

Hope closed her eyes and leaned back against the table behind her.

"Good."

"Yeah, now you and Hope can chat. We'll be back later, Draco."

Hope turned a glare on Draco.

"I do believe he could stand to rest for a bit, as could I."

"No way, Hope. Today's the last day you can sign up to leave the castle for break. Hermione's going home with her parents, and Harry is going to the Burrow, as normal. You're not staying in this castle alone again."

Hope felt someone's hand touch hers. She turned and met her father's gaze.

"We had this discussion last year. Why aren't you coming home this time?"

Hope sighed. "Seriously, I'm not trying to avoid this conversation, I just don't want to have it in the middle of a potion's laboratory with other people."

"Then we'll move to my room and have it there."

He stood and offered a hand to help the girl stand. Hope stood and fought the dizziness.

"Hope?" Severus asked worriedly.

"Just tired. It happens after I heal a lot."

"But you didn't heal a lot, just Dad's arm," Draco muttered, looking at her.

"I didn't just heal it, though. I had to keep up with the potion and knit the skin together right after the potion removed the dark mark. It's not easy."

Hope felt her father's hand on her shoulder and leaned backwards against him.

"I told you I could stand to rest."

"You can rest after we talk. Or I could sign you up to leave the school and we can chat after."

Hope sighed. "We'll talk. Let's move on to your room then."

Hope walked to her father's room and took a seat on his bed, mirroring the position she was in almost a month ago when she went to talk to him at her manor. She waited for him to sit down before sighing.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Why aren't you coming to stay with Draco and I at the manor for break?"

Hope thought about how to answer that.

"I can't answer that until I know the answer to my question. I haven't decided for sure that I'm not going."

"Then ask me your question, child."

Hope took a deep breath and looked at the covers.

"Why didn't you ever cancel the adoption? I'm not complaining or anything, but I don't understand. I told you it was up to you and then ignored you or a week, yet you still left it intact. I went as far as to say you weren't my father where it mattered."

He smiled softly at her.

"Yet, you still went through the trouble to brew an extremely complicated potion, and drained yourself, for someone who is not your father?"

"I didn't say that I still thought that, I just don't understand why you didn't cancel the adoption."

"I didn't cancel the adoption for many reasons. Mostly, because if I was no longer your father, then Draco would no longer be your brother. I knew that wouldn't be fair to him. The rest of the reasons, I do believe I mentioned to you."

Hope looked down at the covers, slightly disappointed.

"I'll sign up to leave the castle with you, but Harry is coming over Christmas Day."

"Fair enough."

Hope sighed and left her father's quarters. She signed her name on the list before going to the Gryffindor common room and collapsing on the couch.

--

A/N: Hey guys. was being weird when it originially posted this one, so I redid it :S  
Sorry !  
Kayla


	21. Chapter Twenty One: Vision

Disclaimer: I Dont Own It:

--

Chapter Twenty-One: Vision

Hope awoke to someone lifting her off the couch in her common room. She opened her eyes and blearily said hi to her boyfriend, halfway aware of him carrying her up the wrong stairs.

He laid down next her and she burrowed her face against his pajamas and heard him laugh quietly.

She waited until Harry settled next to her, then she drifted into an upsetting sleep.

_Three boys moved around quietly in the common room._

_  
__"What if there's someone else up there?"__A voice, recognizable as Crabbe asked._

_"Shut up, we have to worry more about whether __**he **__will be up there.__There's no worry about his mudblood actually being in Slytherin's common room, even if she does have the guts to sit with us." _

_"How are we supposed to get him out of the school?__After Finnegan's failed attempt to kidnap the Collin's girl last year, the wards are stronger than ever." _

_"Goyle, shut up.__You're going to wake him and then we won't stand a chance.__He's good at defending himself." _

_The three Slytherins crept up into Draco's dormitory.__They instantly saw the sleeping boy's blonde hair sticking out from under a blanket._

_As they neared him, Draco stirred a bit and sat up bleary eyed._

_"What are you doing, Nott?" _

_"Carrying a message from your sister.__She said that Severus…" he said the name with distaste "...wishes for you to take this potion."_

_Draco eyed the potion carefully._

_"What would she give it to you when she could just come down here herself and give it to me?" _

_"Because she and her boyfriend were tied up.__Heading toward the room of requirement.__Don't drink if it you don't trust me, explain it to her tomorrow." _

_Draco set the potion down on the table beside him._

_"I think I'll risk her ire than risk getting poisoned." _

_Nott glared at the boy._

_"Then we'll do this the hard way.__"_

_He sent a curse flying towards Draco.__Draco, hindered by his blankets, was unable to move and felt the curse hit him as he was immobilized. _

_"Pour the potion down his throat, Crabbe.__It wouldn't do for him to wake up on our journey." _

_The potion was poured down Draco's throat and a spell forced him to swallow.__The blonde's eyes drifted shut as the sleeping potion did its job. _

_"Now, you two go back to bed.__I will drop him off and return in a moment."__Nott ordered. _

_There was a flash and then Draco was no longer where he was.  
_  
Hope jerked awake with a yell. Her chest was tight and she was finding it hard to breath, and her head was pounding.

Harry had heard her yell and hurriedly sat up.

"Hope, what's wrong?"

"My head. Can't breathe..."

Seamus had come over to see if everything was okay.

"Get everyone out of here and then go get her father and the headmaster. Something's wrong."

The sandy haired boy immediately ordered the other grumbling boys out of the dormitory. He locked and warded the door before rushing off to the dungeons.

"Hope?"

Hope's response was to throw up on Harry's bed.

"Sorry," she muttered.

Harry pulled her close and got rid of the mess with a wave of his wand.

"It's okay."

"He's got Draco," she muttered against his chest.

Harry's heart constricted.

"Who does?"

"Voldemort. Nott, Crabbe and Goyle kidnapped him. Voldemort sent me a vision. It wasn't one of mine, it was from him."

Harry rubbed her back soothingly.

"It's okay. He's probably just trying to trick you. He did that to me in my fifth year."

Hope shook her head.

"My head is going to explode."

Having had visions firsthand himself, Harry knew what it was like to wake up from one. He kept rubbing her back until he heard the door slam open and close.

"Lea?" Severus asked worriedly as he knelt down beside the bed.

"She was complaining about not being able to breathe and having a headache. She also threw up all over the bed."

Severus touched her head.

"She's got a fever."

"Severus, they've got Draco. Please go see if he's okay. Maybe we can stop them."

Severus locked eyes with his daughter.

"What?"

"Crabbe, Goyle and Nott. They are taking him to Voldemort. Please, you have to go see if he's okay."

"Harry, come on. We'll take her to my quarters. While you get a painkiller in her, I'll floo to the Slytherin common room and check on her brother."

"No! Go now. Harry can take care of me."

He sighed.

"Will you let him floo with you to my quarters?"

Hope nodded.

"As long as you go to the common room."

He nodded. He took something out of his pocket and threw in some powder. He gave the bag to Harry before disappearing out of the dormitory. Harry followed the same route. He led Hope over to the couch before going to get the painkillers.

"Get the ones in the blue container. They'll work best," Hope called from the couch.

"Are you still having trouble breathing?" He asked as he handed her the pills and a glass of water.

"No. Just my head and I'm tired. Really tired."

He lifted her head up and slid underneath her.

"I bet. Get some sleep."

"Wanna wait for Draco."

"I'll wake you up when they come back," he lied.

She nodded and closed her eyes, succumbing to the darkness waiting for her.

* * *

Hope awoke to panicked voices and breaking glass. 

"How could they get a portkey through the wards? Albus, you said it would be impossible!"

"Apparently someone lowered the newest wards I put up. I'm sorry Severus."

Hope sat up. She still had a small headache, but it wasn't all controlling like the one she had just had.

"Draco's gone, isn't he?"

Severus crossed the room and wrapped his arms around his daughter.

"Yes. But we'll find him."

Hope nodded. She had an idea forming in her mind.

"I know. Maybe I can form a link with him?"

He shook his head.

"You can do so with myself, Albus, and Harry, because you've been in our minds so much during lessons. Draco isn't like that. He'll be occluding like mad."

Hope sighed. "Okay. I'm going to go back to the common room and change. I'll be back."

Her father grabbed her arm.

"Don't do anything stupid, Hope."

She locked eyes with him, making a promise she was about to break.

"I won't."

He nodded his head and allowed her to leave. Hope waved her hand and changed her clothes without going to the dormitory. She quickly conjured a patronus and sent it off to find Seamus.

By the time she arrived at the Astronomy Tower, he was already there waiting, in full Death Eater attire.

"He's calling you, isn't he?"

Seamus nodded. "He doesn't want me quite yet, but yes, he is telling me to be prepared to leave in a few moments. That way, I can get out into the forest by the time he needs me."

Hope sighed. "Take me with you."

"What?"

"I know you can. I can get Draco out of there. I have a plan."

"Do the headmaster and your father know about it?"

She nodded. He wouldn't have time to check her story.

"I will act like I'm joining his side. It'll be believable. Trust me."

Hope saw him agreeing. She took his hand and allowed him to lead her to the apparation point in the forbidden forest.

"Hold on," she said.

She closed her eyes and connected to Harry's mind.

_Hope?_

_Harry, connect the headmaster.__I'll do my father._

_  
_  
Hope waited until she felt two more presences in her mind.

_  
__I'm sorry, guys, but I can't let them have Draco.__If you close your eyes and occlude, without blocking me out, you'll be able to see things through my eyes.__It's something I've been practicing.__Don't break the connection, no matter what. _

_  
_  
Hope ended the conversation and nodded to Seamus. With a loud pop they were gone.

--

A/N: Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and have an excellent holiday. Be careful, there are some crazy people out there who like to throw mountain dew at you :P. (I got to experience that at work when we ran out of a toy :/)  
Anyway, let me know what you think!  
Kayla


	22. Chapter Twenty Two: From Plans to Action

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

--

Chapter Twenty-Two: From Plans to Action

Hope heard everyone yelling at her while she entered the building where Voldemort was.

_Guys, unless you want me to get caught in this, shut up and let me work. _

The voices in her head disappeared. She entered and occluded as well as she could without blocking out the other three. She knew that they would act as a wall of occlusion all on their own, but she couldn't help but add the extra protection.

She walked in and felt Seamus push her behind him.

"My Lord, I've brought the Collin's girl to you. She's willing to join us."

Hope stepped forward and bowed deeply to the monster in front of her.

"I might be willing to join you. I have a few conditions."

She straightened and saw Voldemort raise an eyebrow.

"What conditions?"

Hope took a deep breath.

"I will not receive the mark. It will hinder my healing abilities, which could be a great asset to you. I will not torture anyone, as I do not believe in torture. Lastly, you will leave my family and friends alone. I understand that if Harry comes after you, you will be forced to kill him. Otherwise, do not go after him."

Voldemort licked his lips.

"And why should I allow you to join me under these conditions?"

Hope let out a breath she was holding. Her plan was working so far.

"I have things to offer. I get visions of the future. I can persuade animals to your side with my gift of speaking to them. As I've already said, I can heal. I can also perform wandless magic."

Voldemort considered her.

"I must test your allegiance. Crucio."

Hope blocked the others in her head from sharing the pain. She fell to the ground and bit her lip in an attempt to stifle her screams. As soon as the curse was raised, she lowered her occlusion wall so they could see again.

"You are tough. I'd be glad to have you as my queen."

"I won't marry you," she said strongly.

"I meant it metaphorically."

She nodded.

"I want to see my brother. If you continue to harm him, I will return to the light side."

Voldemort smiled.

"He is already harmed; however, you may heal him and my death eaters shall leave him alone."

She nodded. Someone was brought forward.

"Draco…" she whispered when she saw him. He was covered in blood and his clothes were ripped.

Hope knelt down beside him and poured healing energy into him. Everyone gasped as the once mangled boy because unharmed. She waved her hand to change his bloody, ripped clothes into normal robes.

"What are you doing here?" He asked his sister.

"Protecting you. Stop occluding for a moment," she whispered the last part.

He lowered his walls and she easily formed a mind link before standing back up. She heard the conversation between her brother and father going on in her mind.

"I understand that you will not be giving him an actual room, but do give him a bed and food in his cell. He's family and I will not have him living like a dog."

The death eaters nodded. She said something to him through her mind link.

_Take care, Draco.__ I'll get you out of here soon._

Hope turned back to the Death Eaters.

"I would like to be shown to my room, if you please."

They looked toward their master, who smiled.

"She's stepping into her role, as I expected she would. You are to do whatever she asks you, unless it is entirely unreasonable."

He rose and walked down toward her.

"Welcome to the winning side, Hope."

He smiled and kissed her cheek, ignoring the face she made.

"Lucius, show her to her room."

A figure bowed down.

"Which one, my Lord?"

"The one next to mine."

He nodded and Hope followed him. She entered her room and sat down, taking a deep breath. She waited for a few moments before casting silencing charms and opening the connection fully.

_Okay, let the yelling begin._

_Hope!__ I can't believe you lied to me.__ You are so grounded when you get home. _

_I'm rescuing my brother.__ I can't do it immediately.__ They'll be watching me.__ In a few days, I'll bring him home. _

…_Hope, be careful.__ They'll be watching you carefully…_

_I know, Headmaster.__ That's why I formed this link before I left the school.__ It'll be too dangerous to communicate by other means.__ And don't be mad at Seamus.__ I told him that you guys were okay with what I was doing. _

_I'm not mad at Seamus, child, I'm mad at you!__ You promised not to do anything stupid._

_I lied.__ Draco's safe now.__ We'll be home shortly.__ I've got to get some sleep.__ As I remember, they serve breakfast early.__ Keep the connection on.__ I'll keep it active as long as there isn't something going on I don't want you to see. _

_/Like when he put you under the Cruciatus curse?/_

_Harry, I'm sorry.__ I couldn't let you see that.__ Being connected, you all would have felt it also.__ That isn't fair._

_/We could have occluded.__ Plus we have potions to take and help us.__ You shouldn't be exposed to that curse./_

_I'm fine, Harry.__ It was a small dose, and it wasn't even that strong.__ I do need some sleep though.__ We'll talk in the morning.__ Draco, be sure to let me know if they hurt you at all, okay?__ I'll put a stop to it immediately. _

_!Sure, Good night, sis.!_

_Good night._

Hope felt the presences in her mind back off into her subconscious. She began looking around the room. There was so much going on that she couldn't sleep yet. She reached into her robe pocket and smiled. She had had the thought to bring a few painkillers with her.

She sighed and downed one of them. She called for a house elf and requested a cold drink. She sat on her bed considering her options.

She would have to wait it out. If any of the death eaters hurt Draco, then they would be subjected to Voldemort's wrath. If she died getting him out of here, well, at least Severus would have him back.

She laid down in her bed after finishing her drink and closed her eyes. Tomorrow would be stressful enough. She couldn't risk anything going wrong, and the only way to do that was by sleeping.

--

A/N: Hey Everyone!! Here's the next chapter. As soon as I get another one, and have time to post it, I will do so.  
Thanks to my beta, Nita. Love you girl,  
Kayla


	23. Chapter Twenty Three: Prisoners

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

--

WARNING!!! CHARACTER DEATH AND MENTIONS OF TORTURE

Chapter Twenty-Three: Prisoners

A week went by and Hope noticed all the people watching her every move were starting to pay less attention. She was sitting in her room, rubbing her head to try to stem the headache that was forming from the multiple voices arguing in her head.

She heard a knock on her door and the door open. Seamus came walking in.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Headache, what's up?"

"The Dark Lord is requesting your attendance. They've apparently caught an important official and are wanting to interrogate him."

"Wonderful. I'll be there in a moment, tell him that he can go ahead and start if he doesn't prefer to wait."

He nodded and left her room.

Hope started talking to the voices that had become a permanent presence in her head.

_I'll leave it up you, Severus, and you, headmaster, if you would like to see who it is and what happens to them. However, Harry, you and Draco will be blocked._

After hearing that Severus and Dumbledore wished to keep the connection open, and while occluding the connections to Harry and Draco, she stood up and wearily made her way down to the main room.

She walked up and noticed immediately that the form on the floor was an order member.

"Shacklebolt?" She asked quietly.

"Welcome to our meeting, Hope. Take a seat next to me," Voldemort said from his seat above the rest of them.

"Can I speak to the prisoner first? I would like to check on how my father and Harry are doing."

Voldemort eyed her carefully.

"I thought you were willing to give them up."

"My Lord, have I made even the slightest attempt to get into contact with them? Have I gone against you at all? All I want is to ensure that they are safe."

Voldemort nodded. Hope crept towards Shacklebolt and knelt down in front of him.

"Are they safe?"

He nodded. She leaned closer, repeating the words Dumbledore was whispering in her ear.

"You have your order pendant on you. It's a portkey. Use it if you feel it necessary. Password is Bravery."

Hope stood and walked back toward Voldemort.

"Have your way with him, my Lord."

He nodded to the death eaters, who began their torture and investigation. Hope turned away on more than one occasion. She ignored her father's voice, whispering reassurances in her head.

"There is nothing of importance that he can give to me. Finish him off," Voldemort responded after glancing at Hope.

Hope saw them shoot the killing curse at him and let a few tears fall from her eyes.

"You are upset that he is gone?" Voldemort asked her. "I thought you were willing to watch them die as long as you didn't participate in the torture."

Hope locked eyes with the creature.

"He was a friend. I've known him since my entrance into this world. I didn't stop you from killing him so don't even begin to question my allegiances."

Voldemort raised his head in agreement.

"I want a minute alone with his body. He's dead, what could I possibly do?"

Hope watched as the death eaters scattered.

"Very well."

"Have Lucius wait for me outside. After I'm done, I want to see my brother."

He eyed her carefully. He touched her chin and she fought the urge to flinch away from his touch.

"If you are planning something, my queen, I will kill you slowly."

Hope narrowed her eyes.

"If I was planning something, don't you think that I would have already done it? You think I haven't noticed your death eaters keeping tabs on me for the past week? I'm not a complete idiot."

He smirked and ran a hand down her cheek.

"That is why you make an excellent queen. You are warned. You may have your time with your fallen friend and your brother, but be at dinner tonight. I would like time to discuss my plans with you."

Hope nodded curtly and pulled away from the monster's touch. She waited until they left before kneeling down in front of the body and letting her tears fall unchecked.

Why didn't he save himself?

_  
…It would have given you away, child. He was looking out for the light, not for himself. He knows we would not have any chance if you are caught… _

_  
What do I do now? I could probably convince Voldemort to return his body to the school. He deserves at least that much._

_  
…Take the portkey off him. Keep it on you at all times. It will provide an escape route… _

_  
Very well, Headmaster._

_  
Hope, you should know that even with the portkey, the wards are too strong to use it currently. Unless the wards are completely demolished, it will only escort one of you back here_

_  
Can I change the location of the portkey?_

_  
Yes, I'll walk you through the spell later. Go see your brother, I've not seen him in a few days and would like to see for myself that he is okay._

Hope sighed. She left the room before allowing her walls back enough to allow Harry and Draco entrance into her mind again. She was quickly growing tired of having all the other presences in her mind, but she knew it was necessary to stay ahead of Voldemort.

Hope allowed Lucius to guide her down to the dungeons. She entered Draco's cell and instantly gave the older boy a hug.

"Are you okay?" She asked. She had to keep up pretenses. If the death eaters suspected a mind link, the whole plan would be blown.

"I'm fine. Although I'm not being treated as royally as you," he joked.

Hope winced. "I got you a bed to sleep on and regular meals. At least that's something."

He laughed. "They did that, alright. The food is barely edible and the bed is the most uncomfortable thing ever. But who's complaining? It's better than the floor and no meals."

Hope narrowed her eyes. "I'm eating dinner with the Dark Lord. I'll speak to him about your food. As for the bed, I'll take care of that myself."

Hope took out her wand and waved it. The bed went from flat and lumpy to full and plush in an instant. "That should be better."

"Thanks, Hope. I know you're doing all this for me."

She nodded. "It's okay. It'll all work out, somehow."

_I'll get you out of here, soon. Just give me a few more days. _

"I know it will. See if you can talk him into giving me a real room," he joked around.

She nodded. "I think this is as good as you're going to get, bro. But I'll talk to him."

He nodded. She gave him another quick hug before moving on.

"How much time do I have before meeting with the Dark Lord?" She asked Lucius.

"Dinner is in three hours. He's laid out a dress for you in your room."

Hope nodded. "Is it full circle, inner circle or private?"

"I believe it will be a private affair. He has mentioned nothing to me about staying, only to have you there by six."

Hope nodded. "I'll be there. I want to visit with some of the younger children who are down here."

"I don't know if the Dark Lord would allow that."

She turned to face him.

"Lucius, he told you to listen to whatever I said, unless it was something he would strictly forbid. He never said I couldn't visit the prisoners. I'm not going to heal them, I'm not going to free them. I'm just going to talk to them. If you don't want to stay, then leave and come back for me."

He nodded curtly.

Hope followed him down to a cell. There were two young girls in there, maybe five years old.

"What's their story?" She asked him.

"Their mother worked for the ministry. They are twins, Kaylie and Jordan. Their mother is already dead."

Hope nodded and opened the cell with a flick of her wand. She walked in and knelt beside the terrified children.

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you."

"The men did. They killed mommy," one of the girls said, pushing her sister behind her.

"I know, but I am not like them."

"You are with them," the girl argued.

"Are you Kaylie?" The girl nodded. "I'm only with them to protect the ones I love. I'm sorry they killed your mother. They killed my mother, too."

"They did?" The girl named Jordan asked.

"They did. And now I'm going to stay with them so they don't kill my father and brother. Because I love them so much that I want to protect them."

"I wish I could have protected Mommy."

Hope let tears shine in her eyes. "I know, but all you can do is stay strong for her memory."

The girls nodded.

"I have to go. Take care of each other."

The girls nodded.

"Lucius, get them a decent meal."

The man looked like he was about to interrupt.

"I don't care what Voldemort would say, I am telling you to provide them with a good meal. If he has a problem with it, he can take it up with me."

The man nodded and Hope moved on. She talked to a few more of the kids.

An hour before she was due to be at dinner with Voldemort, she reentered her room. The dress lying out was a gold halter dress. Rather than going to the floor like most dresses, it stopped at her knees. She sighed before showering and putting the dress on. She quickly styled her hair and joined Lucius outside her door.

She followed him to dinner, planning the entire time about how she would get her brother out of this place.

--

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've got a major course load this semester. I should have another one out soon.  
Kayla


	24. Chapter Twenty Four: Caught!

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

--

Chapter Twenty-Four: Caught!

Hope waited another week before she finally felt comfortable enough to perform her task without being caught. She took the portkey out of her robes and turned it over and over in her hand several times.  
_  
How do I bring down the wards?_

_Hope, I told you, that portkey will only transport one of you. There is no way that you can totally crash Voldemort's wards._

_I'm aware of that, Severus. But Draco needs to get out of here. Tomorrow's Christmas. I'm not going to let him miss spending it with his family. The death eaters are distracted with their anticipation for the holiday tomorrow. Voldemort has something planned and isn't paying much attention. Now's the time to act._

_…Hope, I agree with your father. If you get Draco out of there, how will you yourself get out?..._

_I don't know, Headmaster. I just want him safe at Hogwarts. I'm not worried about myself._

_/Hope, I care about you. I'm worried about you. Don't act too soon./_

_Harry, if I wait any longer, then I'll lose my chance. At least one of us has to make it out of here. I never expected to make it out alive._

_/Don't do this!/  
_  
Hope didn't bother responding. She cautiously opened her door and snuck down to the dungeons where Draco was being held.

"Draco," she whispered as she let herself into his cell.

"Hope!" He exclaimed.

"Shh. I'm going to get you out of here. Stay quiet. I don't think I was followed, but you can't be too sure. Come with me."

Hope let him out of the cell and walked down to where the two twin girls were.

"Draco, if you can, I need you to apparate with them into the forbidden forest. From there, this will take you to the dungeons. Take them with you. I'll join you as soon as I can. I'll need to make sure you aren't followed."

"You can't stay here, they'll kill you!"

"Trust me, Draco! I know what I'm doing. Get ready, it's going to be quick."

Hope started the incantation to bring down the wards. She felt the magic start to leave her before she was thrown backwards.

"Hope, Hope, Hope. When will you learn that even the walls have ears? You think I didn't know that you were planning on escaping with your brother?"

Hope stood.

"Let him leave. I'll stay here, I never intended on leaving. I promised to join you if my family remained safe, and I still stand by that. However, I don't approve of his current living conditions."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes at the girl.

"Then we'll move him into your room and allow you to stay here. What is your business with the girls?"

"I just wanted to see them one last time. I didn't think you'd allow me to live after I helped my brother escape. I had to say goodbye."

Voldemort smirked.

"I will let you live, although I think you need a reminder of what happens if you cross me."

He turned to the death eater beside him.

"Escort young Malfoy and Hope back to the cell. Hope will learn her lesson tonight."

Hope bowed her head.

_I'm sorry, Draco, I tried._

_!Don't worry. We'll find another way out.!_

Hope was shoved into the cell. Her wand flew out of her hand and she sighed. She punched the wall before searching for her wand.

"Hope, it's okay."

"No it's not, Draco! Somebody told him! He obviously didn't hear me or he would know exactly what I planned on doing. Someone heard me talking in my room this morning!"

She punched the wall, letting some of her anger out.

Draco walked over and wrapped the girl in a hug.

"It's going to be fine."

"No, Draco. It won't. You don't understand. I can't do this again. I can't go through the torture. Not again! Especially not with four other people who are always in a part of my mind. I can't do it!"

"Break the connection to me, then. We're already stuck in a room together. It'll be fine."

Hope sighed and sat down.

"It's not the mind links that bother me. I just can't believe I got caught. Now both of us are going to miss Christmas."

"It's okay. Dad will understand."

Hope put her head in her hands.

"I know he will, but I won't. This isn't fair, Draco!"

He sighed and sat next to her.

"I know it's not, but we're in it together. Remember that."

Hope nodded and laid her head against his shoulder.

"I can't do this again, Draco. I barely handled it last time, and that was only for a few hours. I broke up with Harry because I had nowhere to channel the emotions. What am I supposed to do this time? It could be months before we can get out of here. I can take down the wards slowly, but it'll take at least a month if I do so Voldemort doesn't realize it."

"Then we'll do that. We'll make it work."

Hope sighed.

"Even then, the portkey will only support one of us."

He squeezed her hand.

"We're going to get out of here, Hope."

Hope shook her head.

"You will go if you have the chance. Severus can't lose you."

Hope heard the voices in her head and raised her walls higher. She couldn't deal with them at the moment.

"He can't lose you either."

Hope sighed.

"Yes he can. He told me the main reason he didn't cancel the adoption was because he didn't think it'd be fair to rip your sister away from you."

Draco sighed.

"I can't explain it. Get some sleep. I'll watch and wake you up in a few hours to trade off. One of us needs to stay awake in case they come back. But first, break the connection with me. I can tell you've got a headache."

Hope laughed.

"I have for the past two weeks now. But whatever."

She lowered her wards and winced at the screaming resounding in her head. She ignored it long enough to break the connection she had formed with Draco. She quickly rebuilt her walls and leaned back against the bed.

"Wake me up in a few hours, Draco. And thanks."

"Go to sleep."

Draco sighed as he watched her fall into a deep sleep. He would find a way to get them both out of this in one piece.

--

A/N: Here's the next one guys. I don't know when the next chapter will be out. But we are getting closer to the end, I promise :)

Kayla


	25. Chapter Twenty Five: Escape

Disclaimer: I dont own it:

--

Chapter Twenty-Five: Escape

Hope and Draco stuck together through the torture and punishments. For the first couple days, as soon as Draco would return from his session, Hope would heal him so that he could keep watch. He would use a cloth of some sort to try to clean her injuries.

He saw that she was breaking. She wasn't able to withstand the curses because of her healing abilities. Draco knew that if he didn't get her out of there soon, then she was going to die.

After the death eaters and Voldemort realized that Hope was just going to keep healing Draco, they changed their approach. Draco was forced to attend Hope's torture sessions and watch. He then would carry her back to the cell and attempt to clean her up.

Two weeks had passed, and they were both bordering on exhaustion. Hope still had the connection with her father, the headmaster, and Harry, and it was draining her energy. She blocked them out every torture session, but the connection remained. She used them as a lifeline, to keep herself aware of what she had to do.

On Hope's birthday, Lucius came in and leaned over Hope, aware that his son was watching him wearily. He awoke the girl with a quick spell and watched the panic immediately rise to the surface.

"What are you going to do?" She asked the man.

"Hope, the Dark Lord informed me of how disgusted you were with his touch. He also noticed how close you and I seemed to become during your time here. My friends are going to keep your brother occupied, while you will be my sole objective."

"Don't touch me, Malfoy."

Lucius ran a hand down her cheek.

"I plan to do more than touch you, Hope. But first, a curse that will insure you don't use magic to help your brother any longer."

Hope felt a swamping sensation on her chest.

"What did you do to me?"

"That will make it harder to breathe each time you use magic."

Lucius kissed Hope. She jerked away and heard her brother scream. She forgot about undoing the wards slowly and let the magic pour out of her. The wards fell and Hope grabbed her brother after throwing the other death eaters into the wall hard enough that they were knocked unconscious.

She dragged her brother until he caught up with her and began running with her. She quickly stopped in front of the cell she was looking for and blew it open. She grabbed the portkey and gave it to Draco.

"Make sure both girls are touching it, as well as yourself. The wards are completely demolished. It will take you straight to Snape's quarters."

She opened the connection fully for the first time in weeks.

_Draco is on his way. Two girls will be with him. They lost their mother. Find them a good home, Headmaster._

Hope couldn't leave the connection open any longer. It was draining the small amount of energy she had left. She knew she was running on pure adrenaline. She went through the dungeons and blew open many cells.

"The wards are down; if you know how to apparate, get out of here and take someone with you. Get somewhere safe."

Hope heard a series of pops around her. She went to apparate herself, but was hit with a curse before she could get a chance.

"Hope, you surprise us every time. I thought you were going to stick around after you helped your brother leave."

"Well that was before you spent two weeks torturing me. I might have even considered it, if you wouldn't have tried to rape me a few minutes ago. Oh, and you cursed me with a spell that is making it harder and harder to breathe."

"It isn't the end, Hope. Even if you do escape here, I'll find you."

Hope locked eyes.

"I know, but you'll never win."

Hope turned and apparated away, and through a stroke of luck, managed to make it through the wards and straight into her father's quarters.

She coughed and tried to catch her breath. The spell was working fast, but she still had stuff to do. She stood shakily and noticed that nobody had noticed her entrance. She sighed and went over to the two girls who were sitting on the couch, looking frightened.

"Are you two hurt?" She asked them softly.

Kaylie nodded.

"This mean man shot us with a red curse that hurt a lot."

Hope nodded and quickly healed their injuries. She knew that Severus was too busy with Draco to pay attention to the two younger children.

"Is that better?" She asked breathlessly.

The girl nodded and gave her hug. Hope winced but returned the hug and pulled the other girl into one also.

"They're going to find you a good home. I promise you that."

"Can we go live with Daddy?"

Hope sighed.

"I don't know. That's going to be up to that man over there with the silver beard. Let him know who your Daddy is and he'll determine if it will be safe for him."

"Okay. Daddy always wanted us, but Mommy wanted us to grow up around magic."

Hope nodded.

"Make sure you tell him, okay? I have to go help my brother now. I'm afraid my father is a bit too happy to do anything at the moment."

Hope made her way over to where Snape was fussing over Draco despite the smaller boy's obvious pain. He locked eyes with Hope and tried to get up, but Hope shook her head.

"I'm going to heal you, Draco. For the last time, hopefully," she said with a slight smile.

"No, Hope, you can't. Not after…"

Hope cut him off.

"Shush. I managed to bring down the wards, free about half the prisoners, deal with your father, and apparate through the Hogwarts wards, all on my own. I can decide what I am capable of doing."

"But Hope, the curse…"

"...is nothing I can't handle, now be quiet."

Hope healed her brother and staggered back to let Severus continue fussing over him. She left the group and went into her room before sitting on her bed.

"Hope?"

She looked up and saw Harry standing in the doorway. He saw her pinched face and worry flooded his features.

"Hope, what's wrong?"

"I can't breathe. Malfoy's spell. Each time I use magic, it makes it harder to breathe."

"Dumbledore can help."

Hope shook her head.

"I knew what I was getting into. Let them fuss over Draco, Kaylie and Jordan."

"They're all healed, Hope. You're not. If you don't want your father in here, then at least let the headmaster help."

Hope sighed but nodded. Harry went to disappear but the headmaster appeared before he could, and behind him was Severus and Draco himself.

"Draco, you should be in bed," Hope muttered.

"And you should have told Dad and the headmaster you were hurt before disappearing. I can't believe you are so dumb."

Hope shook her head.

"I did what I had to. He needs you."

"He needs you to, you idiot."

Hope shook her head but didn't bother arguing. She was becoming lightheaded due to lack of air.

"Headmaster, didn't I read somewhere that you are part healer?" Harry asked, desperate to find Hope the help she needed.

He nodded.

"I am half healer. I can heal her life threatening injuries, but that is it. You have to understand that she'll still be in a lot of pain, and she can't use any other medications for forty-eight hours. It's up to you, Hope. You're officially of age."

Hope locked eyes.

"Go ahead."

She closed her eyes and laid back against Harry. She felt his arms tighten around her as the healing magic went into her system.

Hope was able to breathe freely and took a deep breathe.

"Thank you," she whispered to the headmaster.

"Don't mention it. You did the same for me during the summer."

Hope nodded and sat up with a wince. She was still in an incredible amount of pain.

"Did you talk to Kaylie and Jordan?"

"I have. They wish to stay with their father. He is a muggle. I was going to allow you to decide, since you did save them."

Hope smiled.

"I want to make sure he's okay with me talking to them. And he needs to understand that they are going to have a rough time with what happened."

Dumbledore nodded.

"I'll explain to him what to expect, but I don't think there will be a problem. However, I do think you and your father are long overdue for a chat from what I heard while you were in the cell."

Hope winced.

"Yeah, see I wasn't exactly expecting to make it out of there."

He smiled.

"I noticed. Your tongue was rather loose, but that's a good thing. It won't do to have doubts when you shouldn't."

Hope nodded.

"Make sure the girls are taken care of."

"I will, I promise you."

Hope watched disappear. She stood and walked over to Draco, enveloping him in a hug.

"I'm sorry it took so long for me to get us out of there."

"Hope, how many times do we have to have this conversation. I'd be dead if you hadn't come to rescue me."

She nodded, although she still felt guilty. He should have been out of there two weeks ago.

"Thanks for helping me through it all."

"I'm your brother. That's why I'm here," he joked.

She smiled softly.

"I know, and you're a great brother. You should go rest, it's been a rough couple weeks."

"You're one to talk. You've been through hell and back, not to mention what my father tried to do to you."

"Draco, nothing happened," she emphasized.

"I know, but something was going to."

"Nobody needs to know, though, because it didn't. I can handle it."

He eyed her carefully before nodding.

"I'm going to go and take a shower. After a month in that place, I can't imagine feeling dirtier. Oh, by the way: Happy Birthday, Sis."

Hope laughed but watched him go. She could stand a shower herself, but didn't think she'd be able to support herself from falling. She sighed and settled for a cleaning and freshening charm and a change of clothes.

She turned and noticed that Harry was no longer on her bed. Curious, she left to go into the living room and find him.

"Where's Harry?" She asked Severus, who was sitting on the couch staring into the fire.

"I asked him to give us some time as a family. I think we need to work through some things and deal with what happened."

Hope looked down.

"Oh, well, I think I'm going to go…"

"Lea, have a seat."

Hope sighed. She carefully moved to where she was sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

"Why do you think you're expendable to me?"

Hope looked at him strangely.

"Severus, no offense, but I'm tired, I'm sore, and my brain isn't functioning. Could you be a little clearer in your question?"

"Why do you think that I don't care if you live or die?"

"Oh. I didn't say that. I just know that Draco is more important…"

"Why do you think that? Lea, I love Draco, but I love you just as much. You are both my children."

"You said you didn't cancel the adoption because you didn't want him to lose his sister," she argued back.

"Among other reasons. You seem to have forgotten that part of the conversation. I didn't think you would react well to being told that I love you and never even considered giving you up."

Hope looked away.

"I can't have this conversation right now."

"You are having this conversation right now. You have to understand before you go off on another foolish mission because you think that I don't care about you. I do, and it tore my heart apart when I realized I might not only lose one child, but I might lose both of them."

Hope stood up.

"Then why didn't you pay any attention to me when I first came in. Draco had to cause a fuss for you to even realize that I was here."

He shook his head.

"No, Lea. I saw through your eyes the tortures that Draco went through. I saw his condition when you opened your mind to help bring down the wards. You blocked me out during your tortures. It didn't occur to me that you could be in worse condition than him. I assumed Harry would be able to help you more than I could since you still don't trust me."

"But I do trust you. I did all this for you. Why can't you just appreciate it?!"

He stood up and pulled her into a hug. She tried to pull away but he held her tight against him.

"I do appreciate it. I really do, but I don't want you thinking that you don't matter to me. You can't do anything like that again."

Hope relaxed in her father's grip. "I'm sorry. I could feel your fear, but I assumed it was for Draco."

"It was for both of you, child."

She let tears escape her eyes.

"I did it because I love you. I thought you'd be happier with him."

He shook his head.

"I would rather neither of you think I love the other more. You are both just as important as the other. A concept Draco has realized but you have not."

She sighed.

"Okay."

She pulled away and sat back down.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Just tired."

He sat down next to her and pulled her against him.

"Then go to sleep."

Hope leaned against her father.

"Thanks."

His only response was to spell the lights in the room darker. He heard someone come into the room and turned to see his son.

"She asleep?" He asked quietly.

"She is. Are you okay?" He asked with a worried look.

He smiled softly.

"She's the one they continually tortured. After realizing she was just going to heal me, they gave up on me. And she's the one Lucius got to."

Severus narrowed his eyes.

"What did he do to her?"

Draco looked away as he sat down in the chair across from them.

"It's for her to tell you. Just know if she lets its fester too long, I will let you know."

He nodded accepting that.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

Draco shrugged.

"I'll get through it. So will she. I'm going to get some sleep. It's been awhile since I had a comfortable room," he said to defend his actions.

He laughed, knowing Draco would never originally go to bed at noon.

"There is a dreamless sleep on the table beside your bed if you need it."

He nodded.

"I think I'll be okay. I'd rather be able to wake up if she needs me."

Severus reached out and stopped the teen.

"She has me too, Draco. I'm not giving her up."

Draco looked down.

"I know, but she thinks you don't want her. I don't want her to think she has nobody to turn to."

He nodded.

"Take half of it. That'll keep the nightmares away as well as keep you aware enough to awaken if you need to."

He nodded, accepting that.

"Thanks, Dad."

Severus watched as his son went off to his room. Both his children would need him in the coming week, he just hoped he didn't let them down.

--

A/N: Here you go guys!  
Kayla


	26. Chapter Twenty Six: Family Time

Disclaimer: I don't own it

-

Chapter Twenty-Six: Family Time

Hope awoke lying on the couch in her father's quarters and felt slightly disoriented. She wasn't sure what day it was or who was in her quarters. She remembered the headmaster and Harry being here when she arrived, but now she didn't see them.

She stood up and fought off a wave of dizziness.

"Severus?" She called out.

"In the lab," he called.

Hope moved slowly toward that direction but was met halfway.

"You didn't have to stop what you were doing," she said guiltily.

"I'm brewing some potions for your brother. Would you like to help?"

Hope nodded and allowed him to lead her into the room. She helped him prepare the five potions in various cauldrons.

After finishing the potions, she sat down on a wooden bench with a wince.

"Hope?" He asked worriedly.

"I just need a break."

He knelt down in front of her.

"I can't give you any painkillers or anything else."

"For forty-eight hours after the healing, I know. What day and time is it?"

He smiled at her.

"It's still your birthday, you surprised us with your presence quite early. It's around seven o'clock."

Hope smiled.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have Draco back by Christmas. I really did try."

He shook his head.

"You shouldn't have gone after them at all. We had this discussion last night. Come on, you need to sit on something a bit more comfortable."

"Don't you have more potions to brew?"

He shook his head.

"I wanted to get them all done at once in case either of you needed me."

"Oh."

He put his hands out and lifted her to her feet. She once again felt the dizziness and he reached out to steady her as she swayed.

"Alright?"

"A little lightheaded. Only happens when I stand up, probably from not eating right for two weeks."

He nodded and led her into the living room. She sat in a comfy armchair while Severus ordered lunch.

"I'm going to go wake your brother and see if he wants anything. I'll be right back."

She nodded and laid her head back. She needed to talk to Harry anyway.

_Harry?_

_/Hope! Are you okay? Severus said he needed to talk to you and that you guys would need some time as a family, which I completely understand, but I still wish I knew what was going on./_

_I'm fine. Sore. Thanks for giving me space, Harry. I can't talk long, Severus went to wake up Draco so we can eat, but I wanted to say thanks for everything and let you know I was okay so you didn't worry._

_/Thanks, Hope. I'll bug Severus until I can convince him to let me visit./_

Hope laughed quietly and broke the connection. She saw the food appear right before Severus and an obviously recently awakened Draco appeared.

Hope stood to give her brother a hug before going to get the plates and bring them into the living room. She took two steps before her father was leading her back to the chair.

"Sit there, and stay," he scolded.

"I'm not a dog," she complained.

"You're not a servant either, and you're hurt; therefore you should be resting, not gallivanting around the room when I can do it just as easily."

Hope pouted but did as he said. She took the plate he offered and immediately dug into the food. She looked over and saw Draco doing the same.

She finished her meal and sat back. She was still tired but there were other things that she wanted to address.

"Severus, about Christmas…"

She heard the man sigh.

"I have told you this too many times, and repeating myself is getting quite old. I do not blame you. Christmas doesn't have to happen on that day. You're presents are still at the manor and the house is still decorated. As soon as you two feel up to it, we will leave for there and come back only when I feel that you are ready to return."

Hope locked eyes with him.

"That wasn't what I meant. I wanted to apologize, but not for not having Draco…"

"...And yourself," he interrupted.

Hope glared.

"…and myself home. I wanted to apologize for not getting you a present. Originally that potion was going to be your present, but after we gave it to you early, I was going to get you something else at Hogsmeade, but I haven't had time to go there since…you know."

He shook his head.

"Child, you surprise me. The potion was more than enough from the two of you. It gave me a freedom I never expected to have until Voldemort was dead."

Hope smiled and nodded.

"I want to go to the manor, but I think Harry and Hermione should be allowed to visit sometimes."

Severus laughed.

"I would not keep your friends from you, child. Harry is welcome to come down any time he wants, as is Hermione," he said, looking from her to Draco. "I merely wished for time to discuss with you your absolute Gryffindor bravery."

Hope smiled again.

"Awesome. So when do we leave?"

"After you are inspected by a healer, and you are in a substantially lesser amount of pain."

"Don't push it off because of me."

"Hope, I don't feel ready to leave yet. I would like to spend a few more days to catch up on sleep and such," Draco added.

Hope nodded. "Fine, we'll wait."

He smiled and squeezed her shoulder, ignoring her wince and flinch.

"Now that you both have eaten a decent meal, you could probably use some of that sleep Draco was speaking of."

"But it's my birthday. I don't want to sleep it away."

He laughed.

"Speaking of your birthday…"

He went into his office and returned, throwing a package at her.

Hope caught it and set it down on her lap.

"How did you know I'd be back?"

"I didn't expect you to be back today. I didn't think you'd have an emotional outburst and totally demolish Voldemort's wards. But I did know you would come home eventually, despite your arguments of the opposite."

Hope unwrapped the package and saw two things. One was a ring. It was beautiful silver band with the word _**Hope**_ on it. She smiled after noticing on each side of her name was a small sapphire.

"It's beautiful," she said, putting it on.

"It's also a portkey. It has the same properties of the other ring you used to wear. This one however, does not need to be taken off. Simple turn it twice and say _sanctuary_ and you will be returned home."

Hope looked down and saw the ring clearly on her hand.

"But it's not invisible."

He smiled.

"You tap it with your wand if you want it to become invisible. I didn't think that you'd want it to be, so I left it like it was."

"Thanks, Severus."

She heard him sigh softly at her still not calling him dad. She looked down in the box and pulled out the other item. It was a small box. She opened the lid with a nod from her father and smiled.

Inside was a small scrapbook. He had someone take pictures of so many events over the past year and a half. There were pictures of him and Draco, of all three of them, of one of them separately. Hope smiled and hugged him.

"Thank you."

He nodded.

"I'm glad you like them both. You should know though, the scrapbook was your brother's idea. He was going to present it to you on your birthday, but since he was not here to finish it, I took the liberty. It is from him though."

She laughed.

"Thanks, Draco."

He seemed a bit surprised but smiled at her nevertheless.

"I didn't expect him to find it. I had it hidden."

"It was a horrible hiding place, Draco."

Hope leaned back and listened to her father and brother arguing over what makes a good hiding place while flipping through the pictures and remembering the times.

--

A/N: Hey everyone, here's another chapter!! I'll get another out as soon as I can.

Kayla


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven: Nightmares

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Nightmares

Hope was evaluated by Madam Pomfrey and told that there were bruises and cuts, but no broken bones. Thanks to Dumbledore's healing, she would be back to herself in no time.

A week later, Hope had to agree that she felt much more relaxed. Her back still ached but she could deal with that. The only thing she was still having problems with was the nightmares.

Hope and Draco were both haunted by them. Draco was reliving the scenes where Hope had been tortured, while Hope saw Lucius over and over again. His last words recited themselves in her dreams over and over again.

They both noticed that they were taking a toll on their father. The vacation to Snape Manor for those few days was great, but then they returned and Severus went back to teaching. He would spend his days teaching, his evening grading or going over lesson plans with his kids, and his nights calming them down after a nightmare.

Hope sat on the couch and noticed her brother come out of his room.

"Draco, have you seen Severus lately?"

He sighed. "Yes, and would you please call him Dad?"

She shook her head. "I can't. He is running himself into the ground."

"I know. He needs to take the weekend and just sleep, but knowing him, he'll have something planned for us."

Hope shook her head. "He casts a monitoring spell on us every night. That's how he knows that we are having nightmares."

"I can talk to him. Mine are starting to fade at least. Used to have them every night and now its maybe once every three nights."

Hope shook her head. "He'll just say something about you being his child and it being his job to look after you. I've already had this conversation with him. I don't know. I guess we can't do anything, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one who noticed."

Hope had an idea forming in her head. She watched as Draco nodded before forming a mind link with Harry. She quickly asked him to stop by the dungeons after class and to bring a book about spells with him.

She went into her room and sat down before catching up on the rest of her homework. She stood up to stretch as she heard Draco call out about her having visitors.

"Send him back to my room," she called out.

Hope looked up and saw Harry carrying the book. He held it out to her and she took it with a smile before sitting back on the bed.

"Thanks, Harry. What's up, you haven't been by much?"

"I just wanted to give you space," he said, reaching out to brush a strand of hair out of her face.

Hope flinched back before cursing herself. She was getting better at not flinching away from Severus and Draco, but if any of them touched her face, she couldn't help the reaction. Harry hadn't been down that much so she couldn't adjust herself to his touch.

She heard him sigh and gave him an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Harry."

He shrugged. "What did you need the book for?"

"I want to know how to cancel stronger spells. A simple finite wouldn't work."

"What about terminus? We were talking about it in class today."

"That would work! Thanks, Harry!"

"No problem, but what do you need the spell for?"

Hope shrugged. "Just some research."

He looked at her. "You're not going to run off and do something stupid again, are you?"

Hope bristled. "I don't think that saving my brother's life was stupid, but no, for your information, I will be staying here in the dungeons."

"Hope, I didn't mean…"

"Whatever, Harry."

"Look, maybe you can talk your father into letting you go for a walk, or come out to quidditch practice tonight? I really do miss spending time with you."

Hope sighed. "You'd have to talk to him. He'd be afraid I'd run off and do something. He'd have to have your word that you wouldn't let me out of your sight for even a second."

"That means quidditch is out of the question."

Hope shrugged. "Maybe not, if he could come along."

"He's the head of Slytherin house. I'm not sure the team would like that."

Hope sighed again. She moved to stretch the sore muscles in her back. "I guess we're stuck then."

"I'll ask if I can take you for a walk."

She nodded, still slightly disappointed.

"It won't be for too much longer, Hope."

"Yeah, right. He's paranoid that one of us is going to get snatched again."

"I don't know what else to do. He's already refusing to let you go to classes."

Hope turned around to face him. "What?"

"Well, I overhead him arguing with the defense teacher over it. He says that it's safer for you to learn in his quarters. That he would ensure that you

know all you need to learn and that she would get your assignments on time."

"But Madam Pomfrey hasn't cleared us to go to classes yet."

He shook his head. "She did, just your father didn't tell you."

Hope shrugged. "It's okay for now. I don't think I could tolerate being around all those people."

Harry stood up. "I'm going to go catch dinner and go to practice. I'll come back afterwards if you want."

Hope shrugged. "If you can make time."

"Hope..."

"Just go, Harry. It's fine."

He leaned down and kissed her, ignoring the flinch. "We'll talk tonight."

Hope watched him leave with growing disappointment.

Hope ate dinner with her family before retreating to her room. She was already caught up on classes and decided now was as good as time as any to practice that spell.

"Terminus," she whispered.

She didn't feel any different, but decided that she hadn't noticed when the monitoring charm was on her either. She climbed into bed and let exhaustion claim her.

An hour later, she jerked away, breathing erratically. She stood up quickly and walked to her door. Her father was in the living room playing chess with Draco.

A knock at the door caught their attention. He went and answered it, admitting Harry into the room.

"Harry, welcome. Hope's asleep."

"No, I'm not." She walked over to them and flinched when her father went to give her a hug.

"Hope?" He asked worriedly. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Hope shook her head and buried her trembling hands into her robes.

"I'm fine, just woke up a bit disoriented. Not used to sleeping during the day."

He eyed her carefully before nodding.

"Can Harry and I go out for a bit? He'll stay with me the entire time."

Severus locked eyes with Harry and waited for him to nod, confirming that he would stay with her.

"Very well, but return no later than nine."

Hope looked at the clock and saw that she had two hours. She nodded and rushed out the door.

She and Harry walked in relative silence until they reached their spot at the Astronomy Tower. Hope looked over the grounds and smiled. It was a beautiful view.

"Hope, why are you so irritated at me?"

Hope sat down against the wall. "I'm not."

"You definitely were earlier. What did I do?"

Hope sighed. "I guess I was disappointed. I was gone for almost a month and you've only stopped by twice. Both times were when I asked you, and you would run out almost as quickly as you came in."

Harry sighed and sat down in front of her.

"I assumed you didn't want me around. You flinch every time I touch you, and it worries me. I don't want to push you."

"Harry, you have no idea what happened to me. I flinch with Severus and Draco as well. Not so much Draco, because he was there, but definitely with

Severus. It's always worse after a nightmare. I just have gotten used to their presence and so it's not so bad."

"I'm sorry."

Hope shrugged and began playing with her robe.

"It's fine, I don't think I'd want to be around me, either."

Harry moved so he was sitting beside her.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Hope stilled her hands. "The same thing that happens to every other prisoner."

Harry shook his head. "There's something different about you."

Hope sighed. "Harry, Lucius got to me this time. It's fine, I'll shake it off, I'm just worried that he's going to make good on his promise and finish what he started."

Harry took her statements to mean the torture.

"He can't get into the school, Hope. You know that, right?"

Hope nodded. "I know, but it still scares me."

Harry nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She flinched but eventually relaxed against him. He felt the weariness emanating from her and decided to talk about meaningless things.

About a quarter till nine, Harry helped Hope stand. The girl once again had to stretch the muscles in her back to keep them from becoming even more sore. The couple walked down to the potion master's quarters.

He walked Hope in and made it a point to hang out for a while. Hope noticed this and smiled.

"Professor Snape?" He braved to ask a question when he noticed Hope was engaged in a conversation with Draco.

"Yes, Harry?"

"There's absolutely no way that Lucius can get into the school, right?"

Harry felt Hope stiffen beside him. She turned and locked eyes with him.

"I don't think he can get into the school; however, I wouldn't put it past him to use the students to do his bidding. Why do you ask?"

"Just something that…"

Hope interrupted. "Harry, can I see you in my room, now?" She spoke in a quiet voice, showing everyone just how furious she was. She stood and stormed into her room, knowing that Harry would follow. She stopped right outside the door, and turned to face him.

"What I told you, I said in confidence. You don't have to reassure me that the man can't get into the school. You also have no right to go behind my back and say anything to my father."

"Hope, I had assumed that you told him."

"He doesn't know anything. He's stressed enough with Draco and I keeping him up every night with nightmares. Just go back to the common room."

"I didn't mean to upset you."

"Harry, I'm not upset, not with you. I'm just tired, I guess. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Harry left after giving her a quick kiss. Hope sighed and went to sit on her bed. She wasn't upset, just worried. It wouldn't take much for her father to figure out what had been bothering her.

She heard a knock and looked up at her father.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hope, you do understand that I'm not going to let that man anywhere near you, right?"

Hope nodded. "I just let it slip to Harry that he did something that frightened me."

"What did he do to you?"

Hope shook her head. "It's fine, don't worry about it. I'm going to get some sleep."

Severus sighed and nodded. He quickly cast another monitoring charm so he would awaken if she had a nightmare. He left the room, not knowing that Hope quietly undid the charm before falling asleep.

A/N: Here's the next chapter everyone. Hope you guys are all having a a good week/day.

Kayla


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight: Truth Comes Out

Disclaimer: I dont own it.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Truth Comes Out

Hope jerked awake from another nightmare. She slowed her sporadic breathing down before glancing at the clock. _Two-thirty in the morning._ After two weeks, the routine had gotten old. But at least her father was sleeping.

She sighed. She was completely caught up on homework, and had read all her books multiple times. She decided to get up and go raid her father's bookshelves.

She moved quietly to avoid waking her father up. She glanced through the books before choosing one on potion making and sitting down in the chair. She spelled the lights on slightly before opening the book.

She made it through the first three chapters before she heard her father's door starting to open. She quickly spelled the lights out and watched as Severus rushed into Draco's room.

Hope heard Draco call out. She stood and rushed over to his room as she heard her father cast a silencing spell.

"Shh, it's okay, Draco."

He shook his head against his father's chest.

"Dad, she didn't even scream. I know it must have hurt. I always see her getting hurt. I was so scared she would die. She's not always going to be lucky."

Hope entered the room and went over to his side. She saw her father give her a look.

"I'm fine, Draco. I won't do anything else stupid, okay?"

He laughed and reached over to squeeze her hand.

"I doubt that. You live for doing stupid stuff."

Hope smiled. "I'll let you know, then so you can come with. Deal?"

He nodded. "Deal. Sorry if I woke you. Dad's usually really good with remembering a silencing charm before waking me up."

Hope shrugged it off. "You didn't wake me. You think you're going to be able to go back to sleep?"

He nodded. "I'll be fine. Thanks, Hope."

She pushed him gently. "That's what sisters are for."

He laughed. "My words."

"And I'm using them. Got a problem?"

He shook his head. "No problem, just want to go back to sleep."

Hope stood up. "Then sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

She watched him from his door to make sure he was actually going to go to bed. He pulled the blankets over himself and was asleep within minutes.

Hope walked away from the door and saw her father watching carefully from the chair she was just sitting in.

"You weren't asleep," he stated rather than asking.

"No, I wasn't," she confirmed.

"I didn't get an alarm saying you had a nightmare."

Hope shrugged. "Maybe the spell wore off or something," she lied.

He rubbed his eyes. "Maybe. Come here."

Hope went to him without thinking and let him wrap her in a hug. She settled against him.

"What did you dream about?"

Hope laughed. "I'm fine, really."

He pulled her down on the couch. "I still want to know."

Hope sighed. "Lucius."

"Ah. It's been weeks since you've been back and you've yet to tell me what occurred between the two of you. Anything else you speak of willingly, yet that, you are rather closed mouth about."

Hope pulled away and stood, running her hand through her hair.

"Give me a break, I don't want to talk about it. You know everything else, why does it matter if you know that?"

He watched her pace. "Because it bothers you. It seems to be the only thing that bothers you. I can't help unless I know."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "You can't help! He told me, he said that…" She cut off as tears fell from her eyes.

"What did he tell you?"

"He said he's not done. He's going to come after me, Dad."

Severus went to where his daughter was kneeling on the ground. He was happy that she called him 'Dad' again, but wished it were under happier circumstances.

"Hope, I won't let him near you. What did he do to you, child?"

Hope shook her head. "I can't tell you."

He sighed. He'd pry information out of Draco tomorrow. Right now, he needed to get her off of the cold floor. It was not going to help her still tender back.

"Let's move to my bedroom. Unless you want to risk waking your brother?"

Hope shook her head and stood. She followed her father into his room and sat on his bed. He sat next to her and put an arm around the sobbing child's shoulders.

"Why can't you trust me on this?" He asked her sadly.

"I'm scared. What if I see him and freeze?"

He shook his head. "You won't. You're stronger than him. I'm more worried that you'll kill him."

Hope leaned against him. "I feel stupid. I should feel guilty for getting Draco into the mess, for getting him captured, but instead, I'm worried about whether Lucius is going to find me. How selfish can you be?"

He pulled her to him. She laid her head against his chest, comforted by his close presence. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her.

"It's not selfish. You've dealt with torture. You know what to expect. You healed Draco; he was never left suffering, he was never close to dying. You came closer than you realize, from what he told me."

Hope nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Is he going to be okay?"

"Your brother will be fine. I'm worried about you. Why won't you tell me what he did to you?"

"I can't. Please just drop it. I'm tired and just want to go to sleep."

She tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her go.

"Then sleep, in here. It's early enough that I won't go back to sleep anyway. If you have another nightmare, I want to know."

Hope hesitated before lying down on the bed. Her father shook his head before pulling the covers over her. She lay awake for awhile, not wanting to fall asleep and show him that she was still having nightmares.

He sat on the other side of the bed and began rubbing her back softly.

"Go to sleep, Lea. I'm right here."

Hope felt her eyes closing against her will. She was asleep within minutes.

Hope heard two voices in the living room and woke up before rubbing the rest of the sleep out of her eyes. She walked over to her father's door and listened.

"She still asleep?"

She recognized her father's voice.

"Yes, she hasn't made a sound all day," Draco responded.

"What did Lucius do to her, Draco? You promised me if she let it go too long, you'd tell me. She's found a way around my charms, and she's not sleeping. I have no clue how to help her."

"Have you asked her?"

Severus must have nodded because Hope didn't hear a reply. Deciding she had to stop this conversation before Draco opened his mouth, she pushed the door open and saw lunch on the table.

"Oh, good, food. Is there enough for me or do I need to order more?"

Draco laughed. "You know the house elves always send up enough to feed an army. Help yourself."

Hope sat at the table. She noticed her father's gaze on her. She turned to him.

"Shouldn't you be in the great hall? You've never joined us before for lunch. Something about keeping up appearances."

"Yes, well, that was before I found out my daughter learned the counter spell to my monitoring spell."

Hope winced. "Harry told you."

"No, I merely know when you're not sleeping. Which is why you are going to tell me what is plaguing your dreams."

Hope shook her head. "I'm not talking about this." She stood and walked towards the door. "And if you try and make me, I'll walk out of this room and won't come back. If you think I wanted the adoption canceled before, I'll push for it this time."

Hurt filled Severus' face. "Hope, why won't you trust me?"

"It's not that I don't trust you. I just can't talk about this. Nothing happened, why won't you believe me?"

"Because even though nothing happened, you're still petrified."

"Hope, just tell him."

Hope shook her head and went to open the door only to find it locked.

"I undid Voldemort's locks on all his cells, as well as blew his wards to pieces, and apparated through the wards around Hogwarts, do you want to see who has the stronger magic, Severus?"

He shook his head. "I don't want to fight you, Hope, I just want to help you."

"Hope, I'll tell him if you don't."

She turned to her brother. "You promised me you wouldn't."

"I thought you would have the common sense to accept his help! It's not your fault that he tried to rape you."

Hope turned away from the look on her father's face. Draco realized what he said and covered his mouth.

"Hope…"

"Forget it, I'll see you guys later."

She undid the lock on the door with a simple wave of her hand. Her wand was still in the other room, but she could worry about it later.

"Hope, wait!" Severus called.

He ran to catch her but the door shut in his face. He jerked it open and ran out into the hallway after her.

Hope kept walking, ignoring her father's voice calling for her. She knew the secret tunnels of the school and easily lost him. She went up to the astronomy tower and sat there.

She knew Harry would show up in a few minutes, as soon as he saw her father looking for her. She heard the door to the tower open and looked over to see him walk through.

"I knew it wouldn't take you long," she whispered.

"You're father told me what happened. Are you okay?"

Hope shook her head. "How much did he tell you?"

"All of it. Hope, I don't think anything less of you. I still love you, you do realize that, right?"

Hope nodded and motioned for him to sit next to her.

"I know. At least now you understand why I flinched from you so much more strongly than I did any of the others."

He nodded and pulled her close. "He's trying to help you. I think you should go back."

She shook her head. "I can't. I can't talk about this, Harry. I can feel it in my gut, that he's going to get a hold of me again. That petrifies me."

He tightened his grip on her even more. "I won't let him. You're mine, and I'm not sharing with him."

Hope sighed. "I guess I do have to face this sometime. Will you come with me?" She pleaded.

"Of course."

He stood and pulled her to her feet. He wrapped his arm around her waist before leading the way to Severus' quarters.

Hope walked in and stood by the door. Harry nudged her toward the couch but she refused to move.

"Hope, I didn't expect you to come back so soon."

Hope felt tears cover her eyes. "I'm sorry, but this is hard. You have to understand, that he didn't do anything. I didn't let him."

Severus enveloped her in a hug. "I know, Draco told me. I'm proud of you, but you should have told me."

"Right before I left, he said that it wasn't over yet. Even if I did survive, he'd find me and finish what he started. I can feel in my gut that we're not done yet. He's going to get his hands on me, and now he knows about my wandless magic. He'll be prepared."

Severus led her over to the couch. Harry stayed close, but let her father help her.

"He won't have a chance. I won't let him near you."

Hope was shaking. She leaned against her father.

"I'm scared," she admitted.

Draco had came over and sat on her other side.

"I'd be afraid for your mentality if you weren't. Nobody should be attacked like that."

Hope nodded. Nobody said anything else. But Hope was surrounded by people that loved her, and that made her feel safer than any reassurances could.

A/N: Here you guys go. Hope you enjoy :)


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine: Upcoming Attacks

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

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Chapter Twenty-Nine: Upcoming Attacks

_Death Eaters stood gathered around Voldemort. He was smiling cruelly. _

_"In two weeks, the ministry will be mine." He smiled again. "And by the end of the school term, Hogwarts will be overcome. I need all of you to train your children. Make them warriors. Those who are worthy will receive my mark before the attack." _

_"My Lord, what of the girl and Potter?" A large death eater asked. "Are the orders on them still the same?" _

_Voldemort's smile became even more cruel. "The orders for the boy are the same. Leave him to me. Anybody who harms him will die a death worse than a traitor's." _

_"And the girl, my Lord?"_

_"She is Lucius'. Do as he wishes on this subject. Lucius?"_

_A death eater stepped forward and pulled off his hood. Malfoy's trademark white-blonde hair stood out in the dark room. _

"_Keep her from any serious harm. I want her fully intact." _

_A small death eater walked forward. "But, my Lord. You promised me…"_

_Voldemort turned toward her. "Don't worry, my beautiful spy. You will have your chance to duel her. I would not deny you that after all you've done for me."_

_The girl bowed. "Thank you."_

_He smiled at her fondly. "I never would have expected you to join me. You show more intelligence than the rest of your family. Just make sure you do not harm her too badly, or Lucius will be allowed to punish you how he sees fit." _

_The girl bowed again. "Yes, my Lord."_

_"Then, on the first day of February, the attack commences. Spend all your energy training up till then, don't worry about any of the brats. The ministry will be mine."_

--

The scene started to fade while Hope jerked awake, startling both her brother and father who were still on the couch in the same positions as earlier.

"Hope?" Draco reached out and touched her.

"Dumbledore. Go get him," she said quickly.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Draco asked quietly.

"No! I had a vision! Now go get the headmaster!" She snapped.

She felt someone touch her arm and turned to face her father.

"Calm yourself before the headmaster gets here."

Hope took several deep breathes before she heard the floo activate. The headmaster came through wearing purple night robes.

"Hope, I heard you needed to speak with me."

"The ministry will be attack in two weeks. The school will be attack toward the end of term. Voldemort has very carefully planned out both attacks."

Draco laughed. "Let him have the ministry."

Hope shook her head. "You can't! With the Aurors on their side, we'll never stand a chance against them. The final battle will be taking place in months, Draco. When we finish Hogwarts, either Harry or Voldemort will be dead. We can't lose our advantages so close to the end."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. Hope turned toward him.

"I will alert the ministry at once. Inform Harry and Hermione. Nobody else must know. You all will be allowed to choose if you go along or remain at school."

Hope locked eyes with the headmaster.

"Sir, I think we should reform that group that Harry had during his fifth year. Not all of the students, but all the ones who are now above age, and wish to fight. We are going to need all the help we can get."

He nodded. "You should divide them into four groups. Each one of you train a group of people, based on their skill level."

"Yes sir," she said. She leaned back against her father. "There's something else. The spy, I recognized her voice."

"Who is it?" Her father demanded.

Hope sighed. "I don't know. I would know if I heard it again. I need to go back to classes. Voldemort said that he wasn't worried about us brats until after the ministry attack. I have to learn who she is, or we'll continue putting our lives in danger."

Her father nodded. "You and Draco are both well enough to attend classes, I guess I have to trust you guys to protect each other. However, you will continue staying in my quarters."

Hope nodded. "Yes sir. What time is it?" She asked curiously.

He looked over toward the fireplace. "About five o'clock. So much for a full night of sleep."

Hope laughed. "Sorry, Severus."

"I'm not worried about it." He brushed it off as he stood. "I am going to go make some potions. Would you like to help?"

Hope laughed as Draco jumped up. "I think I'll go look over my lesson notes and schedule. I've not been in class for so long that I think I've forgotten what classes I have."

"Like you ever knew. You'd always ask Hermione or sneak a look at your timetable," Draco teased.

Hope smirked. "Well, I may not know my schedule, but I do know the material. Or ask your girlfriend who's at the top of all her classes."

"Except for mine," Severus said. "You remain second to Draco in my class."

Hope raised an eyebrow. "I will fix that. See you guys after classes!"

Hope went into her room and dug out her timetable. She noticed that she had DADA first, so she pulled out her book.

After she was caught up in all her latest lessons, she glanced at the clock. She had just enough time to shower and change before meeting outside the DADA room.

Hope saw Harry and went to rush up to meet him, leaving Draco with his girlfriend. She walked up behind him and covered his eyes with her hands.

"Guess who?" She whispered.

Harry turned around and picked her up before spinning her. "Hope! What are you doing here?"

Hope grinned. "Dad decided that I could come back to classes. I'll explain after class."

He nodded, still smiling. "Well then, you're my partner."

Hope laughed and followed him into the classroom. They went through DADA, and then went out to the lake where they began putting together lists. They had compiled a list of all the wizards who are of age before rushing off to lunch.

They went through the rest of their classes. Once they were safe in Severus' quarters away from listening ears, Hope filled Harry and Hermione in on her latest vision.

After all the serious talk, they decided to just hang back and have fun. Hermione started a game of truth.

"Hope, who was your first kiss?"

Hope blushed. "Harry."

Harry was surprised, yet pleased. "Really?"

Hope nodded. "At the Halloween ball. Unless you count Draco kissing my hand," she laughed.

Everyone else laughed too. For the rest of the night, they all went around telling each other secrets, knowing that even if it was embarrassing, they could trust each other with these secrets.

--

A/N: Here you guys go. You're also getting two more chapters today, while I have a spare minute to post them. :)  
Kayla


	30. Chapter Thirty: Ministry Attack

Disclaimer: I don't own it:

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Chapter Thirty: Ministry Attack

"I will not stay here, Severus, and there is absolutely no way that you can make me!" Hope screamed.

The two weeks had flown by and now the night before the attack, Hope was in Dumbledore's office arguing over whether or not she would be in attendance at the attack.

"You are not ready! If Lucius attacks you, then you will certainly freeze. You'll be dead!" He yelled back.

"No, I won't! You've got to trust me. And even if I do, I would rather it be tomorrow than during the final battle. I've got to face him, if only to erase my own fears. He's not unbeatable, Severus, but in my mind that's how I see him."

He nodded, but wasn't happy.

"I guess I can't stop you, seeing as how you are of age now. Not like that ever made a difference."

Hope went up and hugged him. "I'll stay close if it's possible."

He hugged her back before whispering, "I can't let anything happen to you, Hope."

--

The Order, the Aurors, Hope, Harry, Draco and Hermione all stood ready for the Death Eaters. They had warded the entire building against apparating in except for this one room. Once they were here, the wards would cover the entire building, forbidding the death eaters from escaping once they saw they had more than they expected to deal with.

A series of pops surrounded them and immediately spells were being thrown. Hope dodged as many curses as she could while trying to return with others.

She looked around and noticed that the death eaters and order members were spaced out. They were evenly matched, which surprised all those fighting on the side of the light.

"So, you managed to find out about this attack, how very special," a female voice said behind her.

That voice caused a flashback for Hope. A week after classes, she'd heard that same taunting voice as she finally managed to disarm Harry successfully.

"It is special, because now, you will fail, and that would anger your master. He would be most displeased with his spy, wouldn't he?"

Hope watched as the girl reached back and grabbed a sword off the wall.

"Hmm, he would, but he wouldn't risk harming me too bad. That would give away my identity."

"Your identity is already out," she said, summoning a sword to her just in time to block the other.

The two continued battling. Hope had to use her defense training from last year to counter all of her attacks.

She was distracted by a yell from Harry and turned to see what happened only to have her robe and arm sliced by the sword. She screamed before using her own sword and newfound adrenaline to disarm Ginny.

She pointed the end of the sword at the girl's throat.

"Tell me why."

"Why what?" She growled out.

"Why did you feel like you had to betray your family, and your friends? I'd noticed a change in you, but I brushed it off to getting over everything you'd lost."

Hope raised her sword point and used it to rip off the spy's mask.

"You're mother will be most disappointed in you. Maybe I should save you the trouble and kill you now, Ginny."

Hope watched the shock register on her face. "How long have you known?"

"Since earlier. I think I knew it earlier but refused to believe it. You wanted to duel with me, and you lost, now tell me why you betrayed your family."

Ginny's face hardened with hatred. "They never accepted who I was. Ever since second year, when Riddle possessed me, I wanted more of that power. But in my family's eyes, I was a girl, therefore should stay in the house and feed my family. I wasn't about to settle for that."

"I reconsidered when I met Harry. Before he met you, we were a match made in heaven. Then you came along. Potter was head over heels in love with you and nothing I did could change that. My brother was right about you, you are an attention seeking bitch," she spat the word out.

"Ginny?" A voice behind her called. Hope turned slightly to see Fred coming over to join them. "Tell me this isn't true."

Ginny laughed. "Oh, its true, big brother. Did you really think Voldemort would possess me and I wouldn't yearn for his power?"

"He killed our brother!" The older boy exclaimed.

Ginny laughed. "Because of Hope! Ron would have been safe. I knew then that I had to join forces with him to protect our family."

Fred glared at the girl. "You're no longer a part of our family. How could you forget that Harry saved your life, and now you join forces with the one trying to kill him?"

Ginny's eyes softened. "I love Harry, and I'm not helping Voldemort with him, only with her," she said, turning her eyes back toward Hope.

"I should kill you. After all the times you tried to kill me, it would be too easy."

Fred shook his head. "Bind her and leave her. The dementors will have fun," he said coldly.

"You're right. I'll finish up here, then go find my father. Go make sure you're not needed, Fred. Thanks."

He nodded and joined the throws of battle. Hope knelt down in front of the girl.

"You will get what you deserve, Ginny."

The girl laughed. "So will you, Lucius is looking forward to meeting you."

Hope heard movement behind her and jerked out of the way. She turned and looked and saw a death eater pulling his sword out of Ginny. He turned to Hope and with a spell, threw her against the wall.

She stood with a wince and held the sword out. "You just killed your spy. Way to go."

"She's nothing compared to you." Hope recognized the silky voice immediately.

"Lucius," she said quietly.

He ripped off his mask and revealed his perfect features. "Hope, I told you we'd meet again."

Hope brought the sword up and slashed it across his robes. The robes tore, but the wound was merely superficial, enough to get a laugh out of the death eater as he sent her flying into another wall.

Hope fell unconscious due to the impact. Lucius smirked as he leaned down and picked her up. He carried her into a side room and locked the door before whispering 'enervate'.

Hope jerked awake and backed away from the man. "Stay away from me," she hissed.

"Oh, but Hope, don't you get it yet? I don't want to hurt you. Those two weeks, following you around, watching you... the other two watching you as you managed to be stronger than whatever punishment the Dark Lord dished out to you..." He stepped closer and ran a hand down her cheek. "I still remain the only one who has ever made you cry," he whispered.

He used his wand to push her onto a table. Ropes snaked around her hands, and Hope began panicking.

"What are you doing!?" She cried out.

"I'm preventing you from using that wandless magic that you are so fond of again," he whispered and he kissed her cheek.

Hope jerked away only to have another roped snake around her waist and her ankles.

"Stop!" She cried out.

Hope tried to use her wandless magic, but with her hands bound, it was impossible. She called out but Lucius silenced her with a hand over her mouth.

"If you call for your father, I will kill him the instant he comes through that door."

Hope knew from the look in his eyes he was serious. She closed her eyes as he held the sword and began slicing her clothes up.

--

Severus looked at all the death eaters lying bound in the floor. Fred came over to him and looked sad.

"I'm really sorry, sir," he said quietly. "If any of us had known, we wouldn't have let her continue. Somehow we would have stopped it."

Severus eyed the boy cautiously. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

Harry and Draco had come up to join him. "Hope didn't tell you?" He asked, surprised.

"I've not seen Hope since she was battling some death eater with a sword. Why, what was she supposed to tell me?" Severus asked, growing worried. Where was his daughter?

"She was battling the spy, my sister," he said, surprising everyone. "She was supposed to bind her and then come find you."

Severus was extremely worried now. "Where were they at?"

Fred led them to where Ginny's body now laid, dead and bloodied. "She was alive."

"Dad, you don't think Hope killed her, do you?"

Severus inspected the wound. "No, the wound came from someone much taller than her. Did any of you battle Lucius?" He asked the growing group of people gathering.

Everyone shook their head. Severus began cursing. "Begin a search, Hope's got to be with him."

Everyone broke off into groups and began searching. Harry went with Fred and began searching rooms closest to them. Severus and Draco began searching also.

Fred and Harry tried to open one of the doors to find it warded. They undid the wards before pushing the door open. Lucius was leaned over Hope, kissing the skin on her stomach. Hope had tears rolling down her cheeks.

Fred, furious, threw a spell that crashed Malfoy into the wall. He bound him before going to Hope. He went to undo the ropes tying her but she cried out.

"Where's my dad?" She asked, worried.

"He's coming, Hope." Harry said after sending his patronus off to find him.

Hope let Fred take off the ropes and gasped as she sat up. Her back was bruised from being thrown into the wall so hard. She stood up and found the shards of her robe.

She shook her head, knowing that it wouldn't cover her anymore than what she had on. Lucius had been prideful. He'd cut her entire robe off, then cut her shirt off right below her chest, and cut her pants off as if they were shorts before he began kissing every inch of bare skin. Hope shuddered.

Two more people rushed in the room.

"Stay back, I have to finish this," she said. Fred and Harry went to stand by Severus and Draco.

"She won't kill him, will she?" Fred asked his old Professor.

Severus shrugged. "I could hardly blame her."

Hope didn't hear the conversation behind her. She knelt down and picked up the sword before undoing the bonds on the elder Malfoy. She took the sword and pointed it at his throat.

"I could kill you, you know that, right? For everything you've tried to do to me, nobody would blame me. I would considered it an honor to rid the world of one less death eater," she spat.

"You don't have the courage," he said with a glare.

"Isn't that what you just said fixated you on me? That I had the courage to deal with everything Voldemort spilled out to me? That you were the only one who caused me to break? You're wrong, I hope you know. I'm not broken. It takes more courage to walk away from you, than it does to kill you." She threw the sword down in front of him, and turned to join her family.

Lucius grabbed the sword and went to run it through Hope but someone stepped in front of her. The sword cleanly cut through the person's black robes and Hope turned around to catch the person as they fell. She threw Malfoy back against the wall and wrapped him in more ropes than were necessary.

She pulled the death eater's mask off and cried, "Seamus…!"

"Hope," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."

Hope shook her head and she sank to the floor with him. She tried to heal him but he grabbed her hands. "What are you doing?!"

"Remember last year? I complained about how Harry got the girl everyone wanted?" She nodded. "Then you convinced me to come back, by offering me protection."

Hope shook her head. "That was Harry," she said through her tears.

"No, Harry offered protection, but I did it because of you. I saw how much pain they were putting you through, and I realized I still loved you. I had to save you."

Hope shook her head. "You don't have to die, I can heal you."

He squeezed her hand. "It's my time to go, Hope. You have to let me. The playing fields are even now, both spies are gone. I love you, you have to know that," he whispered.

Hope bent down and kissed him, knowing her boyfriend was still in the room. "You will be a hero, Seamus," she said.

He smiled at her. Hope felt the change as he died in her arms. She sat there holding him until her father lifted her up and away from his body. She looked down and saw her skin was covered in her blood.

She turned and locked eyes with Harry, who had tears falling down his face as well.

"Harry, you can hate me, but I had to do that. He died for me."

Harry enveloped her in a hug, pleased when she didn't flinch away from him.

"I'm not upset at all. I kissed Ginny, and you forgave me, remember?"

Hope nodded against his chest. "He's gone."

He nodded and tightened his hold on her. "Come on, let's go home."

--

A/N: So sad!! I like Seamus :( But I didn't like Ginny so it's okay :)  
Had to even out the field and leave you in suspense, didn't I?  
Kayla


	31. Chapter Thirty One: New Recruits

Disclaimer: I don't own it

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Chapter Thirty-One: Training New Recruits

"Hold your wand higher as you cast the spell," she suggested to a Ravenclaw in their seventh year.

They were close to the battle, less than two days away. Hope was surprised at how many people were willing to help out Hogwarts. She made it very clear to everyone that they would be fighting against death eaters and there was a huge chance that more than one of them would not survive the battle.

That hadn't deterred any of them, so now Hope had met them all in the room of requirement every night. The four groups each had an hour. Harry's group met first, from five to six PM, and then they went to the kitchens, since they missed dinner.

Next Hope's group met, from six to seven, followed by Hermione, and lastly, Draco with the majority of the Slytherins. The houses were getting along a lot better, with only a few Slytherins remaining faithful to the Dark Lord.

The group they had been training were never going to be ready in time, but at least they were better trained than they were. They had taught them all patronus charms, multiple blocks, shields, counter curses, and even the basics of hand to hand combat.

Hope congratulated everyone on their hard work before releasing them. She sighed and waited for Hermione to come up. She heard her outside the room and opened the door to find her kissing Draco.

"Eww," she moaned. "That's so gross," she complained.

Hermione laughed and slapped her friend on the arm. "It's no more gross than seeing you and Harry making out."

Hope smiled. She had been worried that after she had kissed Seamus, Harry would be furious with her, but he'd been understanding, through all of it, including her dealing with what Lucius did to her.

"Have fun training; my group did really well, but your group isn't as advanced as ours."

Hermione laughed and Hope went to find her boyfriend. They were going to finally hang out and spend some time together now that exams were over. She found him but was interrupted by a girl coming up to her.

"Hope, I was wondering if you would help me with the shield we were learning today. I can't seem to get the hang of it."

Hope sighed and shot a look at Harry. He shrugged. "I can go and find Alexia. She was needing help with it also."

Hope nodded. She turned back to the girl. "I'd be happy to. Meet me outside in the quidditch pitch. Give me a half hour. You might want to change also. I'll show you some of the combat moves we're learning tomorrow and you can practice on Alexia."

Hope watched as the girl nodded. She turned and walked to her father's quarters. She hurriedly changed and invited her father and the headmaster, who was down there for a cup of tea with her father, to join them and see their progress as well as see how they were teaching the students.

She rushed down to the quidditch pitch, knowing they would be there in a few moments.

She found the girl, Sophia, and Alexia, already down in the pitch with Harry. He was showing them the shield while they watched him carefully.

Hope joined them and added her own advice on how to do it. She had each girl cast the shield and then pointed out things that would help them. She had them continue practicing the shield before they both had it correct.

Then she used Harry to demonstrate the newest combat move they were going to show them, as well as letting Harry show them how to counter it. She ended up on her back on the ground, before letting the girls try it.

"Okay, good job! You're both doing great. To tell you the truth, tomorrow, we're going to mix things up a bit. I'll be in all four groups, and we're going to show you exactly what a real duel can be like. Harry will be there with me. So keep practicing that move and you'll be fine for our next practice."

"Can you show us now?" Alexia asked.

"Yeah, it'd be cool to know what we're up against."

Hope looked at Harry and saw him shrug. She nodded and told them to move up to the stands.

Hope pulled her wand out and prepared herself. She knew this would be a duel of wits, not of spells. They would mix physical fighting and magical, and Hope wouldn't be surprised if a few swords got conjured since the last battle.

She nodded that she was ready and dodged his first curse. It was exactly what she expected. Finally at the end, he knocked her backwards, summoned her wand, and successfully immobilized her.

Hope could've broken out of the spell, but decided to let it go for the night. She didn't need the entire school knowing how powerful she was.

She looked up and saw the other two girls joining them. "That was so cool!"

Hope nodded, a bit tired. "Now you two do it. I want to see exactly how far we've progressed since we started training."

Hope went to go up into the stand but her world dissolved into the all to familiar dark sparkles.

_**Flash**_

_Hope standing, facing Lucius Malfoy, in front of the entrance hall, with others fighting around her._

_**Flash**_

_Harry and Voldemort both eyeing Hope who held three wands in her hand._

_**Flash**_

_Draco being held by Bellatrix Lestrange with her wand pointed at his head, looking at Hope._

_**Flash**_

_Severus in the same position with Lucius Malfoy_

_**Flash**_

_White-hot pain and a green light._

Hope came out of her vision and grasped her head.

"Hope?" A worried voice called.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she called out, dizziness overtaking her as she leaned against the figure behind her.

"You almost weren't fine. If Harry hadn't been behind you, then you would have fallen off the stands to your death."

Hope smiled. "Guess I'm lucky my hero was behind me then, huh?"

"What did you see?" The headmaster asked. "You've not had a vision that caused you to become dizzy since Seamus' funeral."

Hope closed her eyes. She remembered the day all too well. "I know, it's the same thing, too. It's just flashes of scenes, from the battle on Friday, I can only assume. Instead of providing me with information on time and date, it was just scenes. It didn't make much sense."

"What did you see, exactly?" Severus asked, placing a hand on her head to make sure she didn't get a fever like last time. He frowned at the heat coming from her forehead.

"Me and Lucius facing off, Voldemort and Harry looking at me, their wands in my hand, Draco being held by Bellatrix, you being held by Lucius, and then it was weird. I didn't see anything but a bright green light, but I felt it."

"Felt what?" He pushed.

"Pain. A pain so great that I felt like I was on fire."

Hope turned to meet her father's eyes and was surprised by the fear in his eyes.

"I don't know what's going to happen, but I do know that we need to get you back to my quarters and work on your fever. I swear, if these visions don't back down, I'm going to find a way to bind your powers so you don't get them anymore."

Hope laughed slightly as she followed her father down to his room. She laid down on the couch and let him fuss over her while she worried over the vision of Harry and Voldemort looking at her.

What she didn't tell her father was that she hesitated in giving Harry the wands. What would make her do that?

--

A/N: Okay guys, we're getting close to the end of the series. There are four chapters left, I believe. Let me know what you think.  
Kayla


	32. Chapter Thirty Two: Final Battle

ADisclaimer: I don't own it  
--

Chapter 32: Final Battle

Hope stood in the entrance hall using all of her senses. She heard the clock chime six times before the great hall doors were thrown open and figures clad in black robes and white masks stormed in.

Hope stood in her place, knowing everyone else would be in momentarily. They had the air of surprise on their side. Voldemort didn't know they were ready for them.

Hope turned around as the doors flew open and looked shocked.

"What are you doing here?" She exclaimed, feigning surprise.

"Oh beautiful, Hope. What do you know? Here you are, with nobody to protect you." Lucius' voice was sweet yet cold.

Hope threw him and the rest of the death eaters back into the wall.

"You're wrong there, Lucius. I have people to protect me."

She amplified her voice and yelled out the command before the doors all slammed open and in strode teachers, students, and order members. They didn't tell the ministry due to not wanting to leak the information they knew. Hope turned and smiled at the death eaters.

Immediately curses were being thrown. Hope looked around. Neville was busy dueling Bellatrix, Draco was dueling both the elder Crabbe and Goyle, Severus was dueling four or five death eaters, and Harry was with Dumbledore. Convinced everyone was safe, Hope went in search of Lucius.

She found him standing in front of the doors, just like in her vision.

"Waiting for me, Hope?" He asked softly.

Hope turned around and faced them.

"Yeah, I was. It's time for this to finally end, Malfoy," she said venomously.

"You're not going to kill me."

Hope shook her head.

"I've no intention of killing you. But you think I'm afraid of you. I'm not."

Lucius smirked as he shot a few curses in her direction.

"But, little beautiful Hope, you are afraid of me. Don't you understand that?"

Hope shook her head and smiled as she sent curses flying back in his direction.

"I'm not afraid of you, Lucius. Didn't anyone fill you in? After what you did to me, I didn't have a single nightmare. I didn't flinch away from a single touch. Do you want to know what my one regret was?"

He looked at her curiously, so she finished.

"I was sorry that I let you go after you killed Seamus."

Lucius shook his head as the duel continued.

"He had it coming. A spy in our midst. And one like him...I can't believe he actually thought he could have you."

Hope narrowed her eyes.

"He did it all for me, and I will take great pleasure in helping in the defeat of Voldemort so that his death will be avenged."

Lucius let his block fail and Hope took advantage of it. She cursed him and bound him.

She walked over to him and kicked him once for good measure.

"Just so you know, Lucius, you can't do anything to me any longer. You have no hold over me."

She walked off and started dueling another death eater. She bound him and then found her brother.

"Hope, you have to come, quickly!" He called.

"What's wrong?" She asked, running to keep up with him.

"Dad, he got hit with this curse. There's so much blood."

Hope knelt down in front of her father, not even caring that her white robes were being stained with his blood.

She looked at him carefully and sighed. Blood was gushing out of his eyes, nose, and mouth. She went to heal him but was hit with a curse.

"Damn it!" She yelled. "Draco, put up a good shield charm around the three of us and hold it!"

She saw the shield go and instantly focused her healing powers into Severus. She felt the weariness and decided not stop because she knew Draco's shield wouldn't last too much longer.

She healed him as far as she could without draining her power.

"Dad?" She asked, quietly.

"Hope, are you okay?"

She nodded. "I did the best I could, but I couldn't stop and rest like last time. You're going to be weakened from the blood loss."

He sat up and pulled her to her feet.

"I'm fine, child. Go find Harry."

Hope nodded and took off. She went to the other side of the entrance hall and found who she was looking for.

"Harry!" She called, throwing a shield in his direction. The bright red curse rebounded off of him and back onto the death eater.

She covered the distance between them.

"Where's the headmaster?" She called over the noise, putting another shield over them.

"He followed Voldemort," he called back.

She cursed and grabbed his arm. She pulled him into the great hall and saw the two wizards dueling.

She ran up and did as she did during the Halloween ball. She walked right in between the two wizards and told them to stop.

"Hope, how nice of you to join us."

She turned to face the monster.

"Your fight is with Harry and me. Leave him alone."

He grinned evilly. "Gladly."

He shot off a curse that was not anywhere close to either Harry or Hope. Hope turned, thinking he was aiming at someone else, but she saw a ring of fire surround them.

"What did you do?"

"I prevented any help from getting to you. You two will die tonight."

Harry sent a curse flying towards him. It rebounded before being eaten by the flames.

"Take a look, Tom, you're outnumbered two to one."

He smiled. "But you two are weak. You'll crumble."

Hope shook her head. "We'll give you one last chance. Come freely and we won't kill you."

He shook his head. "Sorry, but that won't work for me."

Curses started flying. Each time it missed, it would be devoured by the flames. Once time Hope stepped back into them and hissed as the flames ate her skin.

She ignored the pain and kept dueling. Harry and Voldemort were evenly skilled, but Hope was there to tip the favor.

Hope nodded to Harry. He sent a round of curses flying to distract Voldemort while Hope sent the one curse that would prevent his soul from escaping his body.

Voldemort let out a yell of rage when the curse hit him. He turned to Hope.

"You made a mistake, there."

Hope shook her head. "You can kill me, but now it's fair game. You and Harry are evenly matched, and now you're soul is glued to your body."

Voldemort's face contorted in rage.

"Why would I kill you? This fire is at my will. All I have to do is wave my wand and it'll attack your love."

Hope watched as his held his wand out.

"Accio wand!" She called, forcing all her wandless magic into one spell and pouring it out her wand. She ignored all the warnings she'd ever read about doing this.

She watched as two wands flew into her hand. She looked around and saw that many other wands had flown out of their master's hand onto the ground.

She shook her head and turned back to Voldemort.

"No, you made the mistake. That was awfully stupid of you."

Hope walked toward Harry and held out the wand.

"You don't want to do that," Voldemort warned.

Hope turned toward him. "Give me one reason not to."

Voldemort eyes flashed with victory. "I'll give you two. Look around."

Hope turned and looked at the death eaters around. Most the people in the room were standing, watching what would happen, watching what would unfold.

Two people were clearly not watching the scene like the others. Just like her vision, Bellatrix had Draco at wandpoint as Lucius did with Severus.

"Let them go," she commanded harshly. "Or I will kill you myself."

He laughed. "Oh, but Hope, don't you get it? If I die, then so do they. It's up to you."

Hope looked at her father and knew what she had to do. She turned to Harry.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. He looked at her in surprise. She walked over and kissed him. "I do love you," she said.

She turned back to Voldemort and acted like she was going to give him the wand before turning and throwing it at Harry. She then turned and used all the magic she could call to throw Bellatrix and Lucius as hard as she could away from her father. She saw Lucius become impaled on a sword hanging out from the wall, and Bellatrix was quickly surrounded by Order members.

Hope turned back to Harry and Voldemort and saw a flashing green light. She was thrown backwards and felt pain beyond anything she could imagine.

_Harry?_ She tried to make a connection.

There was no reply. She closed her eyes and let the darkness claim her.

--

A/n: Yeah, I know Cruel cliffhanger. But if you review, maybe I'll beg my beta to give me the next chapter quicker?  
Kayla


	33. Chapter Thirty Three: Recovery

Chapter Thirty-Three: Recovery

Severus and Draco pushed through the debris to find any of the missing people. The wizarding world should be celebrating the defeat of the most evil dark wizard ever known. However, three hours after the fall of Voldemort, all the survivors were in the hospital wing recovering or searching through debris for the two fallen heroes.

When Harry had cast the final spell at Voldemort, the magical fire had exploded, leaving Voldemort's body in the middle of the debris. Everyone had worked hard on catching the death eaters, who weren't even putting up a resistance since their leader had fallen.

Only after that did anyone realize that the two people who had made the celebration possible were missing. They continued searching through the piles of burnt debris.

"Dad, I found something!" Draco called from across the room.

Severus rushed across the room and helped Draco pull the debris off of the body. He saw the familiar black messy hair and pushed even harder.

He pulled the body out from under the rest of the debris with Draco's help.

"Albus, we found Harry!" Severus screamed. He saw the older wizard move faster than most thought possible.

"How is he?"

Severus handed the boy to the headmaster. It was obvious that Harry was not in a good condition. His body was covered in burn marks and blood.

"Not good; take him to the hospital wing, and tell Poppy he requires immediate attention."

"We'll find her, Severus."

He nodded and continued shifting debris.

It took another hour before he saw a bit of white beneath all the debris.

"Draco, come quick!" He called. He started moving the debris and lifted the broken body of his daughter out.

Hope's white robes were red or black in the majority of places. Her blonde hair was covered in soot, and her skin was charred. Severus rushed towards the hospital wing.

"Poppy, we found her!" He exclaimed to the mediwitch. She motioned to another healer to continue working on Harry before continuing on to help Hope.

"Severus, there's nothing I can do. She can't use potions, and spells wouldn't be enough to save her," she said regretfully.

"So what do you suggest, we just let my daughter die?"

"Is her mind open?" The headmaster asked quietly.

"What?" Severus turned to him, confusion clear on his face.

"If her mind is open, you can self-heal her. It won't be nearly as successful as it would be if she were conscious, but it would still work."

He leaned forward and after a quick incantation, found himself shifting thorugh her memories.

"Yes, her mind is open. How do we do this?" He asked.

"Who are the two people who would be participating?" The headmaster said, using his most serious tone.

"I would imagine Draco and myself. She saved my life yesterday, as well as Draco's back in January."

Dumbledore turned to the blonde boy. "Are you willing to do this?"

He nodded.

"Very well, Draco, you would go first, since you were healed first. Just form a mind link with her. Grasp her hands, and I will say the incantation."

Draco nodded. He took both her hands in his own and felt the world swirl before he was in her mind.

"Hope?" He asked quietly. She was sitting under a tree. Everything about her world looked sad.

She looked up and seemed surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"You're dying. We came to save you. What's wrong?"

"I killed your father and your aunt. How can you not hate me?"

He shook his head. "I don't hate you, Hope. I never could."

Hope shook her head. "I don't believe you. You're doing this because Severus is forcing you. Harry's dead because of me, and I won't force you into helping me live."

He shook his head. "Harry's alive, they're working on him now. And nobody is forcing me to do this."

Hope locked eyes with him and Draco felt himself being pushed out of her mind. He was back in the hospital wing with a groan.

"What happened?" Severus demanded.

"She thinks that I'm harboring ill feelings towards her because she killed my father and my aunt."

Severus turned toward the headmaster desperately.

"You can go ahead and do your half, Severus. It may be enough to save her life."

Severus nodded and took Draco's seat. He found himself sitting in front of his daughter.

"Hope, look at me."

She met his gaze. "Is Harry okay?"

"We do not know. He was very close to dying. We're not sure yet if he will survive."

Hope sighed. "And you want to heal me."

He nodded. "That was the plan."

She held her hands out. "Then let's get going. How does it work without two people though?"

He shrugged. "We're not exactly sure, but if we don't try, then you're going to die."

Hope nodded and used the magic to let it flow through her. After several minutes, Severus was back in the hospital wing and Hope was awakening with a groan.

"Hope?" He asked, leaning over his daughter.

"Ow," she muttered as she sat up with her father's help. "Where is Harry?"

"Three beds down."

Hope went to get out of bed but was stopped by three sets of hands.

"I'm going to go see him. You can either help me or fight me, but I will be going to his bed."

Severus sighed and motioned for Draco to help her. He was exhausted from healing her and went to find a bed to lie down in.

Draco helped Hope over to Harry's bed. She sat on the edge of it and brushed a strand of hair out of his face.

"Why aren't the potions working?"

Dumbledore sighed. "It was a magical fire. Voldemort wanted to be sure that you and Harry died if he didn't survive."

Hope sighed. She knew what she was about to do would be dangerous, but she couldn't live only to lose Harry. She placed her hands over his chest and began to let her healing magic work.

Someone grabbed her hands and pulled her away.

"You can't do that!" Draco exclaimed. "Nobody has ever healed after self healing, you could kill yourself."

Hope fought against his grip. "Like you care, I murdered your family. Wouldn't you like to see me dead?"

Draco caught her face in his hands and forced her to look at him.

"You and Severus are my family. I care nothing about Lucius and Bellatrix. I'm happy they are dead. Do you understand me?"

Hope pulled away and nodded. "Just the same, I love Harry. I can't let him die." Hope watched as he accepted this fact and let go of her. "Draco, after I heal him, if you complete your part of the healing, then I should be okay. I'll still be in pain, and I'll have scars, but we'll both be alive."

Hope waited for him to nod before turning back to Harry. She forced her healing magic out and into him. The burns on his body disappeared and the raven haired boys' eyes fluttered open.

"Hope," he rasped out. Instantly there was a glass of water at his lips and he drank it before continuing. "I thought you were dead."

Hope fought the lightheadness overwhelming her. She went to stand but fell backwards. "Draco," she said quietly.

Draco led her back over to her bed with Harry following worriedly. "What's going on?" He asked.

"She's stupid and had to heal you right after Severus self-healed her. Now I've got to finish the job and hope it's enough to save her."

Dumbledore incanted the spell and waited nervously with Harry. Time went by slowly, but finally Draco's eyes fluttered open and he stood up and stumbled to another bed before falling asleep.

Dumbledore waited until he knew all of Hope's magic was reigned it before approaching her bed. She still had a fever, and her skin was scarred, but she was in much better condition than she previously was.

Hope's eyes fluttered open and she smiled. "Hey."

"How are you feeling?"

Hope made a face. "Like I need a shower. I'm still in a lot of pain, but it's tolerable now, though I don't think I'll be supporting myself for awhile."

Everyone in the room laughed. Harry laid on the bed beside her and draped an arm around her.

"That's okay. You're alive, and we can work with that."

Hope nodded at that and felt her eyes drifting close. "I love you."

She felt him kiss her forehead. "I love you, too, and if you ever try to sacrifice yourself for me again, I'll kill you myself."

Hope laughed softly before falling into a deep sleep.


End file.
